An analysis of the common body of knowledge of software assurance

Abstract

Software assurance is not a new discipline, but industry is expressing a need for a stronger knowledge of and improved skills in software assurance. Poor quality software is a serious problem that continues to grow.This requires a skill that few professionals can provide. Training and education are important factors to increase knowledge and skill. Software assurance topics in academia are limited, so there is a need for additional research on the subject. This research focuses on the need for software assurance topics in academia. The results identified the gap of knowledge in the education of software assurance. Important software assurance concepts have been disregarded in the college curriculum leaving industry struggling for skilled professionals. These concepts are identified and must be incorporated into a college curriculum to close the gap.A comparison was made to analyze the topics that are not discussed in academia. The comparison between computing curricula and the Software Assurance: A Curriculum Guide to the Common Body of Knowledge to Produce, Sustain, and Acquire Software (CBK) resulted in a guide of topics to be addressed in academia. The CBK was not entirely addressed in any of the computing curriculum. The topics that were poorly covered in the computing curricula were identified and categorized. These results should be the primary topics incorporated into computer courses and utilized in the development of new software assurance courses.