Software Sustainment
Blog Posts
Shifting from Software Sustainment to Software Engineering in the DoD
This post describes key issues that should be addressed by sustainment organizations, sustainment funding activities, and other stakeholders to make this transition successful.
• By Thomas Evans, Michael Gagliardi, Joseph Kostial, Nicholas Reimer, Douglas C. Schmidt
Data-Driven Management of Technical Debt
Technical debt communicates the tradeoff between the short-term benefits of rapid delivery and the long-term value of developing a software system that is easy to evolve, modify, repair, and sustain. …
• By Ipek Ozkaya
In Artificial Intelligence Engineering
Cybersecurity Engineering for Legacy Systems: 6 Recommendations
Legacy systems continue to play a key role across many organizations. Engineering cybersecurity into these legacy systems presents some unique challenges....
• By Susan Crozier Cox, Harry Levinson
In Cybersecurity Engineering
Why Software Architects Must Be Involved in the Earliest Systems Engineering Activities
Today's major defense systems rely heavily on software-enabled capabilities. However, many defense programs acquiring new systems first determine the physical items to develop....
• By Sarah Sheard, Suzanne Miller, Bill Nichols, Donald Firesmith, Mike Phillips
In Software Architecture
Three Architecture Recommendations for Sustainment Organizations
In a March 2019 report, the Defense Innovation Board (DIB) noted that the United States faces threats that are evolving at an ever-increasing pace....
• By Susan Crozier Cox
In Software Architecture
A 5-Step Process for Release Planning
Software products are often used for two decades or more. Several researchers have shown the cost of maintenance and sustainment ranges between 40- and 80 percent of the total lifecycle …
• By Robert Ferguson
Governance of a Software Product Line: Complexities and Goals
My prior blog post on product lines in DoD sustainment described the complexity of contractual relationships in a DoD software product line....
• By Robert Ferguson
Decisions for Sustaining a Software Product Line
A software product line is a collection of related products with shared software artifacts and engineering services that has been developed by a single organization intended to serve different missions …
• By Robert Ferguson
Three Approaches to Adding Flexibility in Software Sustainment Contracting
At the SEI we have been involved in many programs where the intent is to increase the capability of software systems currently in sustainment....
• By Julie Cohen, Harry Levinson, Cecilia Albert
Efficient and Effective Software Sustainment of Product-Line-Based Systems
In the SEI's examination of the software sustainment phase of the Department of Defense (DoD) acquisition lifecycle, we have noted that the best descriptor for sustainment efforts for software is …
• By Mike Phillips
