No abstract

Software organizations that develop their software products using the agile software processes such as Extreme Programming (XP) face a number of challenges in their effort to demonstrate that their process activities conform to ISO 9001 requirements, a major one being product traceability: software organizations must provide evidence of ISO 9001 conformity, and they need to develop their own procedures, tools, and methodologies to do so.

This paper proposes an auditing model for ISO 9001 traceability requirements that is applicable in agile (XP) environments. The design of our model is based on evaluation theory, and includes the use of several auditing “yardsticks” derived from the principles of engineering design, the SWEBOK Guide, and the CMMI-DEV guidelines for requirement management and traceability for each yardstick. Finally, five approaches for agile-XP traceability approaches are audited based on the proposed audit model.

Index Terms— Agile Software Certification, Extreme Programming, Software Process Improvement, ISO 9001 

No abstract

Smart Grid (SG) provides enhancement to existing grids with two-way communication between the utility, sensors, and consumers, by deploying smart sensors to monitor and manage power consumption. However due to the vulnerability of SG, secure component authenticity necessitates robust authentication approaches relative to limited resource availability (i.e. in terms of memory and computational power). SG communication entails optimum efficiency of authentication approaches to avoid any extraneous burden. This systematic review analyses 27 papers on SG authentication techniques and their effectiveness in mitigating certain attacks. This provides a basis for the design and use of optimized SG authentication approaches.

No abstract

Background: Lightweight cryptographic algorithms have been the focus of many researchers in the past few years. This has been inspired by the potential developments of lightweight constrained devices and their applications. These algorithms are intended to overcome the limitations of traditional cryptographic algorithms in terms of exaction time, complex computation and energy requirements. Methods: This paper proposes LAES, a lightweight and simplified cryptographic algorithm for constricted environments. It operates on GF(24), with a block size of 64 bits and a key size of 80-bit. While this simplified AES algorithm is impressive in terms of processing time and randomness levels. The fundamental architecture of LAES is expounded using mathematical proofs to compare and contrast it with a variant lightweight algorithm, PRESENT, in terms of efficiency and randomness level. Results: Three metrics were used for evaluating LAES according to the NIST cryptographic applications statistical test suite. The testing indicated competitive processing time and randomness level of LAES compared to PRESENT. Conclusion: The study demonstrates that LAES achieves comparable results to PRESENT in terms of randomness levels and generally outperform PRESENT in terms of processing time.

No abstract

For software organizations needing ISO 9001 certification, including those that have adopted agile methodologies, it is important that their software life cycle processes be able to manage the requirements imposed by this certification standard. However, the user stories in the XP agile methodology do not provide auditors with enough evidence that certain steps and activities have been performed in compliance with ISO 9001. This paper proposes an extension to the user story, based on four sub processes related to the CMMI-DEV model: 1) identification of the source of the user story; 2) categorization of the non functional requirements; 3) identification of the user story relationships; and 4) prioritization of the user stories. These sub processes are aligned with the XP release planning phase, and enhance the ability of user stories to accumulate the information that is mandatory for achieving ISO 9001 certification