State-of-the-Art Reports (SOARs)

SOARs are CSIAC publications that provide in-depth analysis of current technologies, research, and the latest technical information available on a topic within any of the CSIAC technical focus areas.

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Commercial-Off-the-Shelf Based Software Development and Integration

The goal of this report is to survey the state of the practice in Commercial-Off-the-Shelf COTS-based development. The report discusses the definition of COTS and COTS-based systems. Then it lists and discusses pros, cons, and…

Using Cost Benefit Analyses to Develop Software Process Improvement (SPI) Strategies

The purpose of this State of the Art Report (SOAR) is to organize the costs and benefits of Software Process Improvement (SPI) strategies, methods, approaches, and alternatives into a form and methodology that enables software…

Mining Software Engineering Data: A Survey

This report discusses the state-of-the-art, as well as recent advances in the use of data mining techniques as applied to software process and product information. This report includes: a discussion on data mining techniques and…

Data Embedding for Information Assurance

Provides an assessment of the state-of-the-art in data embedding technology and its application to IA. It is particularly relevant to information “providers” concerned about intellectual property protection and access control; information “consumers” who are concerned…

Object-Oriented Database Management Systems Revisited

This report reviews the state of the art of Object-Oriented Database Management Systems (OODBMS). The objective of this report is to provide the reader with an understanding of the issues relevant to OODBMS technology and…

Using Defect Tracking and Analysis to Improve Software Quality

Defect tracking is a critical component of a successful software quality effort. In fact, Robert Grady of Hewlett-Packard stated in 1996 that “software defect data is [the] most important available management information source for software…

Understanding and Improving Technology Transfer in Software Engineering

This State-of-the-Art-Report summarizes the history of software engineering technology transfer and suggests ways to help us understand how to shorten the time between innovation and effective practice. It begins by examining earlier efforts to understand…

Modern Empirical Cost and Schedule Estimation Tools

Cost models were derived from the collection and analysis of large collections of project data. Modelers would fit a curve to the data and analyze those parameters that affected the curve. Early models applied to…

Electronic Publishing on the World Wide Web: An Engineering Approach

This CSIAC state-of-the-art report (SOAR) was developed from a handbook that provides guidelines to World Wide Web (WWW) information providers for disseminating information through the WWW. The handbook itself was originally developed as part of…

Software Design Methods

This state-of-the-art review provides an analysis of the status of software design methods. The topic of software design is an extensive one with a rich history. Views of software design can range from very focused…

A State of the Art Review of Distributed Database Technology

A distributed database is a collection of multiple, logically interrelated databases distributed over a computer network. A Distributed Database Management System (DDBMS) is a software system that permits the management of distributed data making the…

Artificial Neural Networks Technology

This report is intended to help the reader understand what artificial neural networks are, how to use them, and where they are currently being used. Artificial neural networks are being touted as the wave of…