About the job
Join the Software Improvement Group (SIG) as a Master's Research Intern and be at the forefront of advancing software quality assessment methodologies. This internship focuses on estimating the risk and value of software qualities, providing a unique opportunity to investigate the critical factors that influence software engineering success.
Research Problem:
In the realm of software engineering, three main elements govern decision-making: technology, people/process, and economics. As software quality increasingly dictates the success or failure of systems, it is essential for development organizations to grasp the potential risks and benefits, alongside the costs associated with enhancing software quality. Unfortunately, an integrated methodology to address various software qualities is currently lacking.
At SIG, we utilize the Cost Estimation Model (Nuhogro 2011) to evaluate the effect of maintainability on development efforts, which serves as a vital tool for reporting and decision-making. However, we are in need of similar assessments for other software quality characteristics.
The FAIR methodology (FAIR, Open-FAIR, Freund 2015) offers a structured approach for quantifying risks, particularly in the context of cybersecurity. This methodology combines multiple risk factors to assess overall risk and provides outcome ranges.
Research Question:
This research aims to explore whether the FAIR approach, or a similar alternative, can be adapted for various quality models (such as maintainability, security, architecture quality, etc.), resulting in a comprehensive cost estimation model for multiple software qualities. Furthermore, the research will investigate if risk models for these qualities can converge into a unified software economics model.
If this is not feasible, can the FAIR methodology be applied to software security, leveraging results from SIG’s Sigrid platform?
Tentative Approach:
The research is expected to unfold in several stages, although not all stages need to be completed within a single thesis project.

