Infusing software assurance research techniques into use

Research in the software engineering community continues to lead to new development techniques that encompass processes, methods and tools. However, a number of obstacles impede their infusion into software development practices. These are the recurring obstacles common to many forms of research. Practitioners cannot readily identify the emerging techniques that may benefit them, and cannot afford to risk time and effort evaluating and trying one out while there remains uncertainty about whether it will work for them. Researchers cannot readily identify the practitioners whose problems would be amenable to their techniques, and, lacking feedback from practical applications, are hard-pressed to gauge the where and in what ways to evolve their techniques to make them more likely to be successful. This paper describes an ongoing effort conducted by a software engineering research infusion team established by NASA's Software Engineering Initiative to overcome these obstacles.