Measurement, Metrics, and Assurance

Summary

This Measurement, Metrics, and Assurance project focuses on measuring and assessing trustworthiness in software, systems and applications. It conducts research into characteristics of software systems that relate to or support trustworthiness, and seeks to identify and improve metrics and measurement methods (i.e. the metrology) that enable developers to analyze, evaluate and assure trustworthiness in software systems and applications.

Currently, the MMA project consists of two sub-tasks in which all project members participate:

• Structured Software Assurance (SSA)
  
• Metrics and Metrology (MM)

Description

The Structured Software Assurance (SSA) task is investigating a methodology known as "structured assurance case models," which have been used extensively in assuring safety-critical systems and applications, for their potential application in assuring other software system qualities, such as reliability, dependability, security, and usability; qualities that contribute to trustworthy systems. Project members are also contributing to work being done by the Object Management Group (OMG) System Assurance Platform Task Force (PTF) in developing specifications and tests for a Software Assurance Meta model (SAM). The SAM, when implemented, will provide a machine-readable repository for meta data describing Claims,Arguments, and Evidence information, which are elements of a structured assurance case model.

The Metrics and Metrology (MM) task is conducting research into metrics and measurement methods for trustworthy software, and collaborating with the SAMATE project in exploring and developing models and metrics for trustworthy software.

Major Accomplishments

This information is forthcoming