SoftwareAssurance

SoftwareAssurance is a discipline focused on ensuring that software products and the processes used to develop and maintain them meet defined quality, safety, security, reliability, and compliance requirements throughout their lifecycle. It encompasses planning, measurement, validation, and governance activities that reduce risk and enable confidence in software outcomes.

The scope includes software development processes, supply chain integrity, and the ongoing management of software components such as open source libraries. It covers assurance across functional requirements, nonfunctional attributes, security controls, safety considerations, and regulatory obligations. Key activities include requirements elicitation and traceability, design reviews, code analysis (static and dynamic), testing (functional, performance, security), threat modeling, vulnerability management, and configuration management. Producing and maintaining a software bill of materials (SBOM) is often part of software assurance to document provenance and dependencies.

Standards, frameworks, and maturity models commonly referenced in software assurance include ISO/IEC 25010 for software quality characteristics, ISO/IEC 27034 for application security, and NIST guidance such as SP 800-53. The OWASP Software Assurance Maturity Model (SAMM) provides a framework to assess and improve organizational practices. Industry practices frequently integrate assurance with governance, risk management, and compliance programs, as well as with software engineering and cybersecurity efforts.

Outcomes of software assurance include evidence of compliance, formal certification or attestations, and demonstrable risk reduction. Challenges include supply chain complexity, evolving threats, and balancing cost with the level of assurance required by stakeholders.