Making the Business Case for Software Assurance

Sponsored by SEI/CERT and CyLab in support of the Department of Homeland Security Software Assurance Program.

Date: September 26, 2008
Location: Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA
Keynote speaker: Joe Jarzombek, Director for Software Assurance, Department of Homeland Security

Call for Papers

This one-day workshop will explore methods for making the business case for software assurance and associated issues. We are particularly interested in ways of capturing development costs and all forms of benefit associated with software assurance and making the case to executive management. The workshop will include invited speakers, presentations of refereed papers, and facilitated discussion sessions.

Papers are solicited in the following four topic areas, which will correspond to the workshop sessions:

1. Cost/benefit – An important aspect in making the case to executive management is the ability to quantify costs and benefits. We invite papers on methods for calculating costs and benefits, case studies, and lessons learned.
2. Organizational development Issues: The best methods in the world won’t go anywhere if the organization is not ready to accept them. We invite papers on ways to facilitate organizational development in support of the business case for software assurance, such as training, motivation, discipline, and oversight. Once again, case studies and lessons learned are welcome.
3. Outsourcing and Globalization: We need to examine the impact of outsourcing, globalization, and other sourcing and international issues as they relate to making the business case for software assurance. Does outsourcing impact the business case for software assurance in a favorable way? Do international standards help? How does the global market play into this?
4. Liability, legal, and regulatory issues, ethics: There are many legal issues that potentially impact software assurance. How do due diligence and legal liability issues impact business case? Do they make it easier to argue the associated business case or more difficult?

Submit papers to bc-pc@sei.cmu.edu.

Papers are limited to six pages and should include title, author name(s), contact information, an abstract, and keywords.

Chairs

General Chair
Jan Vargas – Software Engineering Institute

Program Chair
Nancy Mead – Software Engineering Institute

Program Committee

Julia Allen – Software Engineering Institute
John Bailey – Institute for Defense Analysis
Antonio Drommi – University of Detroit Mercy
Jeff Ingalsbe – Ford Motor Company
Jim McCurley – Software Engineering Institute
Mary Polydys – National Defense University
Sivraram Rajagopalan – Ernst & Young
Dan Shoemaker – University of Detroit Mercy
Rahul Telang – Carnegie Mellon University
Bob West – Echelon One
Rita Briston – Administration
Pamela Curtis – Technical Editor

© 2008 Carnegie Mellon University