A Technical History of the SEI

The SEI Role
The SEI works with diverse organizations within the DoD—and also in other agencies and in the
DoD supply chain—to leverage the rapid changes in software technology to support diverse facets
of the mission at all stages of the lifecycle, including development, assurance, and sustainment for
cyber-enabled missions. In its FFRDC role, the SEI develops methods to manage risk, cost,
schedule, quality, security, and complexity of software-reliant systems. The SEI works throughout
the software supply chain, including with prime government contractors, their subcontractors,
supporting vendors, open-source foundations, government labs, other FFRDCs, and researchers.
Through these relationships, the SEI learns how the DoD can both make the best use of and also
facilitate the advance of DoD-essential technologies that are emerging in the commercial sector,
as well as the new technologies that are still being evaluated in the lab.
A key challenge in the shifting software landscape is that advances in software technology and
practice consist of much more than incremental enhancements to established existing practices
and tools. We must also focus on advancing and redefining the practice to support new techniques
that are better suited to delivering the capability, flexibility, and assurance necessary for modern
systems. We call this software producibility—the capacity to design, produce, assure, and evolve
innovative software-intensive systems in a predictable manner, while effectively managing risk,
cost, schedule, and complexity.
Looking Ahead
In this section, we look forward in software engineering, in related topics in cybersecurity, and in
potential roles for the SEI as an institution. There are significant changes underway in the ways
we develop, assure, and sustain software-reliant systems. There are also significant changes in the
technologies and practices associated with software, including languages, tools, models, and analyses,
as well as supporting hardware and communications infrastructure. This visionary exercise
reflects an activity that is ongoing at the SEI, which is to continually look forward with respect to
both the mission context and the advancement of technology and practice. This forward-looking
process involves direct engagement with stakeholders across a spectrum from basic researchers in
universities to mission-focused operators and sustainment managers. The process involves identifying
and assessing potentially important points of technical advancement that can provide meaningful
leverage on a wide range of challenges associated with developing and sustaining softwarereliant
systems.
In the past, an active forward-looking research and planning effort has led to the many advancements
documented throughout this volume, such as CMM/CMMI, TSP, the scalable conops of the
CERT/CC, 71 real-time scheduling theory and practice, and the emergence of architecture practice.
71 W. L. Scherlis, S. L. Squires, R. D. Pethia, “Computer Emergency Response,” in P. Denning (ed.)
Computers Under Attack: Intruders, Worms, and Viruses, Addison-Wesley, 1990.
CMU/SEI-2016-SR-027 | SOFTWARE ENGINEERING INSTITUTE | CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY 286
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