The Five Pillars of Software Assurance in System Acquisition

Acquisition and operation of a system with effective software assurance requires effective software risk management throughout the lifecycle to identify and mitigate potential mission impacts. As detailed in this post, through decades of experience in working with programs across government and industry, our team of researchers in cybersecurity in acquisition, system and software engineering have identified five foundational capabilities (pillars) that must be well established to support the acquisition of a system with effective software assurance: Software Requirements, Software Supply Chain Risk Management, Software Quality, System Integration, and Software Metrics. These pillars address inconsistencies, mistakes, and disconnects in today’s software management that represent risks to mission success.