The Software Assurance Competency Model: A Roadmap to Enhance Individual Professional Capability
• SEI Report
Publisher
Software Engineering Institute
Abstract
This paper describes a software assurance competency model that can be used by individual professionals to improve their software assurance skills. It can also be used by universities to align course content with skills needed in industry, and it can be used by industry to help employee professional growth as well as to screen prospective employees. The knowledge and skill areas in the competency model are based on the Master of Software Assurance reference curriculum that has been previously approved by the IEEE Computer Society and ACM. The model is aligned with a similar effort by the IEEE Professional Activities Board to develop a competency model for software engineering practitioners.
Part of a Collection
Competency Development and Workforce Readiness
Supplementary Materials for Software Assurance Curricula
Implementing the Software Assurance Curricula
Cite This SEI Report
Mead, N., & Shoemaker, D. (2013, May 16). The Software Assurance Competency Model: A Roadmap to Enhance Individual Professional Capability. Retrieved September 12, 2026, from https://www.sei.cmu.edu/library/the-software-assurance-competency-model-a-roadmap-to-enhance-individual-professional-capability/.
@techreport{mead_2013,
author={Mead, Nancy and Shoemaker, Dan},
title={The Software Assurance Competency Model: A Roadmap to Enhance Individual Professional Capability},
month={May},
year={2013},
institution={Software Engineering Institute, Carnegie Mellon University},
url={https://www.sei.cmu.edu/library/the-software-assurance-competency-model-a-roadmap-to-enhance-individual-professional-capability/},
note={Accessed: 2026-Sep-12}
}
Mead, Nancy, and Dan Shoemaker. "The Software Assurance Competency Model: A Roadmap to Enhance Individual Professional Capability." Software Engineering Institute, Carnegie Mellon University. Software Engineering Institute, May 16, 2013. https://www.sei.cmu.edu/library/the-software-assurance-competency-model-a-roadmap-to-enhance-individual-professional-capability/.
N. Mead, and D. Shoemaker, "The Software Assurance Competency Model: A Roadmap to Enhance Individual Professional Capability," Software Engineering Institute, Carnegie Mellon University. Software Engineering Institute, 16-May-2013 [Online]. Available: https://www.sei.cmu.edu/library/the-software-assurance-competency-model-a-roadmap-to-enhance-individual-professional-capability/. [Accessed: 12-Sep-2026].
Mead, Nancy, and Dan Shoemaker. "The Software Assurance Competency Model: A Roadmap to Enhance Individual Professional Capability." Software Engineering Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, Software Engineering Institute, 16 May. 2013. https://www.sei.cmu.edu/library/the-software-assurance-competency-model-a-roadmap-to-enhance-individual-professional-capability/. Accessed 12 Sep. 2026.
Mead, Nancy; & Shoemaker, Dan. The Software Assurance Competency Model: A Roadmap to Enhance Individual Professional Capability. Software Engineering Institute. 2013. https://www.sei.cmu.edu/library/the-software-assurance-competency-model-a-roadmap-to-enhance-individual-professional-capability/