Project 3: Software Weaknesses
Step 7: Compare and Contrast Software Development Methodologies

Now that you have completed your research on the SDLC, you are going to look into how to develop the software your organization needs.

You decide to consider various software development methodologies. Compare and contrast open source, commercial, and internally developed software methodologies, noting what cybersecurity issues each addresses.

Open-source software platforms are widely used and supported, and benefit from communities of creative and innovate thinkers. Learn about the open source development community (accountability and self-policing, development criteria, “ownership”) and the pros and cons of adopting open source platforms for corporate use.

You will use this information in the next step to develop a software development matrix.

Step 8: Submit a Software Development Matrix

Develop and submit a one-page matrix that compares and contrasts open source, commercial, and internally developed software development methodologies. You may want to use a table in Word or an Excel spreadsheet. Either will help you to succinctly present your ideas. Discuss the pros and cons of each to help inform your final recommendation. Include as criteria cost, software assurance needs and expectations, software assurance objectives, and a software assurance coding and development plan. You will use information from this matrix in your Software Recommendation Memo.

GUIDE FOR STEP 8

6 x 3 Matrix or 3×6. I am not expecting paragraphs with narrative, just a matrix.

Columns: Pro’s, Con’s, Cost, Software Assurance Needs and Expectations, Software Assurance Objectives, SA Coding and Development Plan.

Rows: Open Source, Commercial, Internally Developed.(Commercial and Open Source are not the same thing)

Step 9: Evaluate Software Maintenance

Whether you are developing or purchasing software, the key to successful software installation and use is a maintenance plan that ensures updates are implemented in a timely manner and that guards against improper uses that could jeopardize the integrity of the software. Using key tenets of the maintenance elements of the SLDC, begin developing a software maintenance plan. In preparation for the maintenance plan, you will need to do the following:

• Describe the software, the features, and the security improvements.
• Develop a schedule to implement the recommended software.
• Identify potential impacts to mission, risks, and likelihood of success.

Step 10: Submit Software Maintenance Plan

Using your findings from the previous step, develop and submit a two-page white paper for distribution to the team that will be responsible for implementing the plan. Since this white paper will help you to prepare the Software Recommendation Memo, it should do the following:

• Describe the software features.
• Describe the expected impacts on the mission.
• Include the implementation schedule.

GUIDE FOR STEP 10

2 page white paper – the problem you are trying to solve can be found in Project 3, Step 1. It is an accounting software update.

• Intro
• Background/Problem
• Solution – software description
• Implementation schedule
• Software Maintenance plan
• Conclusion
• References

Step 11: Weigh Software Options

You are finally ready to write your recommendation memo. Before you begin, look over your research one more time and evaluate your findings. Identify the software options to consider along with the associated costs and risks of those options. Your options should include procurement, development, and open source.

Step 12: Submit the Software Recommendation Memo

Now that you have weighed the software options, write a memo recommending an approach to software acquisition for the organization Use your ideas from the matrix and white paper. Address it to procurement, with coordination through the chief information officer. This memo will educate leadership on the importance of making the right software decisions for the organization, so the memo will describe the software development life cycle (SDLC) and its applicability to the current needs of your organization. The three- to five-page memorandum should accomplish the following:

• Articulate the software needs of the organization.
• Identify the software options that best meet the organization’s needs.
• Make a recommendation for your organization supported by a rationale.
• Describe the key attributes of the software development life cycle (SDLC).
• Describe the weaknesses of commonly used software (word processing, spreadsheets, email platforms).
• Identify any known risks of your recommendation and describe supply chain risk management your organization could implement.
• Detail the costs involved in your recommendation.
• Cite contract language that would be used to ensure that supply chain, system, network, and operational security were met.

Submit the memo to your instructor. Guide for STEP 12

2 page memo

-Cover page

-Table of Contents

-2 page memo