An Acquisition Perspective on Product Evaluation

This technical note focuses on software acquisition and development practices related to the evaluation of products before, during, and after implementation. From engagements with numerous DoD acquisition programs, it has been observed that a number of recurring issues reduce the effectiveness of how software-reliant products are evaluated. An acquisition effort consists of identifying the customer's needs, selecting or developing a product that is responsive to those needs, and then evaluating the product to determine if it properly addresses the identified needs. This technical note describes the Product Evaluation (verification, validation, and certification) process including test, reviews, and formal methods. It also makes the argument that Product Evaluation should not be deferred until after a product has been built, but should begin as soon as the customer's needs have been identified and should continue throughout the acquisition effort.

PDF [375 KB]

Authors

Grady Campbell

Harry Levinson

Richard Librizzi

This report is related to the following area(s) of work:

Acquisition Support

Technical Note
CMU/SEI-2011-TN-007
October 2011

Cite This Report

SEI:

Campbell, Grady; Levinson, Harry; & Librizzi, Richard. An Acquisition Perspective on Product Evaluation (CMU/SEI-2011-TN-007). Software Engineering Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, 2011. http://www.sei.cmu.edu/library/abstracts/reports/11tn007.cfm

IEEE:

G. Campbell, H. Levinson, and R. Librizzi, "An Acquisition Perspective on Product Evaluation," Software Engineering Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Technical Note CMU/SEI-2011-TN-007, 2011. http://www.sei.cmu.edu/library/abstracts/reports/11tn007.cfm

APA:

Campbell, G., Levinson, H., & Librizzi, R. (2011). An Acquisition Perspective on Product Evaluation (CMU/SEI-2011-TN-007). Retrieved May 23, 2013, from the Software Engineering Institute, Carnegie Mellon University website: http://www.sei.cmu.edu/library/abstracts/reports/11tn007.cfm

CHI:

Campbell, Grady, Harry Levinson, and Richard Librizzi. An Acquisition Perspective on Product Evaluation (CMU/SEI-2011-TN-007). Pittsburgh, PA: Software Engineering Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, 2011. http://www.sei.cmu.edu/library/abstracts/reports/11tn007.cfm

MLA:

Campbell, G., Levinson, H., & Librizzi, R. 2011. An Acquisition Perspective on Product Evaluation (Technical Report CMU/SEI-2011-TN-007). Pittsburgh: Software Engineering Institute, Carnegie Mellon University. http://www.sei.cmu.edu/library/abstracts/reports/11tn007.cfm

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