Software Engineering Institute (SEI) Podcast Series

Latest Episodes:

Architecting Systems of the Future Oct 17, 2013

Show notes

In this episode, Eric Werner discusses research that he and several of his colleagues are conducting to help software developers create systems for the many-core central processing units in massively parallel computing environments. Eric and his team are creating a software library that can exploit the heterogeneous parallel computers of the future and allow developers to create systems that are more efficient at computation and power consumption. Listen on Apple Podcasts.

Acquisition Archetypes Sep 26, 2013

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In this episode, Bill Novak talks about his work with acquisition archetypes and how they can be used to help government programs avoid problems in software development and systems acquisition. Acquisition archetypes are developed based on experiences with actual programs, and they use concepts from systems thinking to characterize and analyze dynamics. Listen on Apple Podcasts.

Human-in-the-Loop Autonomy Sep 12, 2013

Show notes

In this episode, James Edmondson discusses his research on autonomous systems, specifically robotic systems and autonomous systems for robotic systems. In particular, his research focuses on partial autonomy with an aim of complementing human users and extending their reach and capabilities in mission- critical environments. Listen on Apple Podcasts.

Mobile Applications for Emergency Managers Aug 29, 2013

Show notes

In late June 2013, a team of SEI researchers attended a four-day music festival at the invitation of Adam Miller, director of the Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania, Emergency Management Agency. The festival typically draws close to 100,000 concert goers to a rural farm in Pennsylvania that lacks significant infrastructure and is accessible only by a two-lane highway. Miller is charged with ensuring the public safety, so it seemed like a good match to partner with researchers from the SEI's Advanced Mobile Systems Team, which supports emergency responders and soldiers in the field who work in situations with limited computer resources, poor connections with networks, and highly diverse missions. This podcast highlights an interview that Bill Pollak, communication and transition manager in the SEI Software Solutions Division, conducted with Miller. Listen on Apple Podcasts.

Why Use Maturity Models to Improve Cybersecurity: Key Concepts, Principles, and Definitions Aug 27, 2013

Show notes

In recent years, rapid evolutions have occurred in technology and its application in most market sectors, leading to the introduction of many new systems, business processes, markets, and enterprise integration approaches. How do you manage the interactions of systems and processes that are continually evolving? Just as important, how can you tell if you are doing a good job of managing these changes, as well as monitoring your progress on an ongoing basis? And how do poor processes impact interoperability, safety, reliability, efficiency, and effectiveness? Maturity models can help you answer these questions by providing a benchmark to use when assessing how a set of security practices has evolved. [1] In this podcast, Rich Caralli, the technical director of CERT's Cyber Enterprise and Workforce Management Directorate, discusses maturity models and how they are being used to improve cybersecurity. He describes their key concepts, definitions, and principles and how these can and have been applied to a wide range of disciplines and market sectors. Related Courses Introduction to the CERT Resilience Management Model Listen on Apple Podcasts.

Applying Agile in the DoD: Third Principle Aug 15, 2013

Show notes

In this episode, the third in a series by Suzanne Miller and Mary Ann Lapham exploring the application of agile principles in the Department of Defense (DoD), the two researchers discuss the application of the third principle, "Deliver working software frequently, from a couple of weeks to a couple of months, with a preference to the shorter timescale." Listen on Apple Podcasts.

DevOps - Transform Development and Operations for Fast, Secure Deployments Jul 30, 2013

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"Release early, release often" to significantly improve software performance, stability, and security using a DevOps approach. Listen on Apple Podcasts.

Application Virtualization as a Strategy for Cyber Foraging Jul 25, 2013

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Modern mobile devices create new opportunities to interact with their surrounding environment, but their computational power and battery capacity is limited. Code offloading to external servers located in clouds or data centers can help overcome these limitations. However, in hostile environments it is not possible to guarantee reliable networks. Consequently, stable cloud access is not available. Cyber foraging is a technique for offloading resource-intensive tasks from mobile devices to resource-rich surrogate machines in close wireless proximity. One type of surrogate machine is a cloudlet—a generic server that runs one or more virtual machines (VMs) located in single-hop distance to the mobile device. Cloudlet-based cyber foraging can compensate for missing cloud access in hostile environments. One strategy for cloudlet provisioning is VM synthesis. Unfortunately, this method is time consuming and battery draining because it requires large file transfers. In this podcast, researcher Grace Lewis discusses application virtualization as a more lightweight alternative to VM synthesis for cloudlet provisioning. Listen on Apple Podcasts.

Common Testing Problems: Pitfalls to Prevent and Mitigate Jul 11, 2013

Show notes

The National Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST) reports that inadequate testing methods and tools annually cost the U.S. economy between $22.2 billion and $59.5 billion, with roughly half of these costs borne by software developers in the form of extra testing and half by software users in the form of failure avoidance and mitigation efforts. The same study notes that between 25 percent and 90 percent of software development budgets are often spent on testing. In this episode, SEI researcher Don Firesmith discusses problems that commonly occur during testing as well as his development of a framework that lists potential symptoms by which each can be recognized, potential negative consequences, and potential causes, and makes recommendations for preventing them or mitigating their effects. Listen on Apple Podcasts.

Joint Programs and Social Dilemmas Jun 27, 2013

Show notes

In this episode, SEI researcher Bill Novak discusses joint programs and social dilemmas, which have become increasingly common in defense acquisition, and the ways in joint program outcomes can be affected by their underlying structure. Listen on Apple Podcasts.