A Technical History of the SEI

Direct Support to Government Systems Developers
The SEI has been at the forefront of most software engineering technology developments over the
past 30 years and has established itself as a leader to whom the defense software engineering
community turns for insight and solutions. The SEI is not a consulting organization in the traditional
sense. Nevertheless, it has leveraged its expertise by providing direct support to many DoD
and other government organizations facing unique challenges.
The SEI regularly receives comments from government officials thanking it for its contribution to
their efforts. These differ from the kinds of acknowledgement received for specific technologies
outlined in the technology subsections in that they normally refer to specific individuals and normally
cover a range of support that the SEI provided. Since the following are simply examples,
the names of the SEI individuals, when mentioned, are replaced by (…).
I am writing to commend the CMU/SEI handbook called QUASAR and its authors. The F-35 Joint
Strike Fighter (JSF) Program used it to assess the computer system architectures of our aircraft
and ground systems. It helped us immensely in focusing attention on often-neglected quality attributes,
rather than solely upon functional or component-based views of those systems. It guided
us in both technical and managerial approaches to architecture assessment. QUASAR enabled the
F-35 Program to verify fulfillment of its contractual architectural requirements, and in so doing,
improve the quality of the product. QUASAR’s basis in CMU/SEI’s real-world assessment experience,
including on the F-35, undergirds its credibility and veracity. During the past four and one
half years, F-35 used QUASAR to successfully assess major subsystems on nine occasions. I participated
in the planning or execution of all these events, in my capacity as Mission Systems Architect,
and later as Air System Architect. The handbook helped coordinate the efforts of the assessment
teams (comprising the Program Office plus CMU/SEI and other subject matter experts)
with system designers (comprising the air system contractor—Lockheed Martin, plus its suppliers).
I heartily recommend the continued use and development of this valuable tool.
— Mike Bossert, Mission Systems Architect, JSF JPO (Joint Strike Fighter Joint Program Office)
Mission Systems [Firesmith 2010]
Continued SEI support to Global Hawk Program Office is vital to the continuity of classified program
interdependencies and interactions.… SEI provides technical continuity in support of OSD
and AF leadership directives with respect to AF UAS Command and Control Initiative standards
(UCI) and also holds technical leadership positions in OSD’s UAS Control Segment Working
Group (UCS). …Additionally, SEI provides significant software engineering support to two
Ground Segment efforts valued at over ~$100M—domain expertise and assistance to contractor
audits and technical reviews are essential to Global Hawk’s success.
— Carlin Heimann, Col, U.S. Air Force, Global Hawk System Program Director AFLCMC/WIG
CMU/SEI-2016-SR-027 | SOFTWARE ENGINEERING INSTITUTE | CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY 299
Distribution Statement A: Approved for Public Release; Distribution is Unlimited.