The Measurement Challenges in Software Assurance and Supply Chain Risk Management

SEI Report
This paper recommends an approach for developing and evaluating cybersecurity metrics for open source and other software in the supply chain.
Publisher

Software Engineering Institute

Abstract

In this paper, the authors discuss the metrics needed to predict cybersecurity in open source software and how standards are needed to make it easier to apply these metrics in the supply chain. The authors provide examples of potentially useful metrics and underscore the need for data collection and analysis to validate the metrics. They assert that defining metrics, collecting and analyzing data to illustrate their utility, and using standard methods requires unbiased collaborative work to achieve the desired results.

Cite This SEI Report

Mead, N., Woody, D., & Hissam, S. (2023, December 22). The Measurement Challenges in Software Assurance and Supply Chain Risk Management. Retrieved August 15, 2026, from https://www.sei.cmu.edu/library/measurement-challenges-in-sw-assurance-and-scrm-white-paper/.

@techreport{mead_2023,
author={Mead, Nancy and Woody, Dr. Carol and Hissam, Scott},
title={The Measurement Challenges in Software Assurance and Supply Chain Risk Management},
month={Dec},
year={2023},
institution={Software Engineering Institute, Carnegie Mellon University},
url={https://www.sei.cmu.edu/library/measurement-challenges-in-sw-assurance-and-scrm-white-paper/},
note={Accessed: 2026-Aug-15}
}

Mead, Nancy, Dr. Carol Woody, and Scott Hissam. "The Measurement Challenges in Software Assurance and Supply Chain Risk Management." Software Engineering Institute, Carnegie Mellon University. Software Engineering Institute, December 22, 2023. https://www.sei.cmu.edu/library/measurement-challenges-in-sw-assurance-and-scrm-white-paper/.

N. Mead, D. Woody, and S. Hissam, "The Measurement Challenges in Software Assurance and Supply Chain Risk Management," Software Engineering Institute, Carnegie Mellon University. Software Engineering Institute, 22-Dec-2023 [Online]. Available: https://www.sei.cmu.edu/library/measurement-challenges-in-sw-assurance-and-scrm-white-paper/. [Accessed: 15-Aug-2026].

Mead, Nancy, Dr. Carol Woody, and Scott Hissam. "The Measurement Challenges in Software Assurance and Supply Chain Risk Management." Software Engineering Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, Software Engineering Institute, 22 Dec. 2023. https://www.sei.cmu.edu/library/measurement-challenges-in-sw-assurance-and-scrm-white-paper/. Accessed 15 Aug. 2026.

Mead, Nancy; Woody, Dr. Carol; & Hissam, Scott. The Measurement Challenges in Software Assurance and Supply Chain Risk Management. Software Engineering Institute. 2023. https://www.sei.cmu.edu/library/measurement-challenges-in-sw-assurance-and-scrm-white-paper/