Agile Acquisition Strategy
| Open Source | Commercial | Internally developed | ||
| Criteria cost | Pros | Cost-effective since there is no development.
Offers efficient licensing schemes |
Cheaper compared to internally developed | |
| Cons | Licensing can be expensive, and costs could recur. | The development could be very expensive, depending on the scope of the project. | ||
| Software assurance needs and expectations | Pros | The source code can be altered to meet the organization’s needs and requirements. | The support from the vendor is very important. | The software can be highly customized and manipulated to meet the organization since it is internally owned. |
| Cons | The interface may not be user-friendly.
Attention is paid to functionality. |
They lack the flexibility to the internal organization software needs and requirements. | ||
| Software assurance objectives | Pros | Has robust mitigation measures, and many eyes are on it.
Vulnerabilities and risks can be seen. |
Responsive since it is used by multiple users who can provide feedback.
Vendors are responsive to maintaining the market. |
Risk tolerance is better since the company owns and controls the code.
The software assurance objectives can be tailored to organizational goals. |
| Cons | Risk tolerance may go beyond the company’s capacity. | It cannot be tailored to organizational goals. | ||
| Software assurance coding and development plan | Pros | Strict compliance to standards by vendors. Identification of threats, risks, and mitigation is done by the vendor. | ||
| Cons | Subject to many vulnerabilities, as many people have access to the source code.
Developer malpractices may also expose the code. |
Limited internal capacity could open the software to vulnerabilities. The resources for development cannot be compared to the commercial software. | ||
The recommended software acquisition strategy is the agile acquisition strategy. It is regarded as the strategy, processes, and structure to apply and adopt the agile software development methodologies effectively. The strategy is effective because it incorporates the activities of planning, designing, developing, and testing into a reiterative life cycle to distribute frequent, small, and incremental capabilities to the end-user of the software (Dingsøyr, Nerur, Balijepally & Moe, 2012). Besides, the strategy will be vital in the software development process because it integrates an empowered team and actively collaborates with stakeholders. Thus, the strategy will embrace such agile development principles as frequent capability deliveries, self-organizing cross-functional teams, continuous user participation, feedback, and evolving requirements to produce the best software for the organization.
In addition, the most appropriate software development methodology will be Commercial Software. The method will be effective because it guarantees one-on-one support. According to Host & Orucevic-Alagic (2011), the commercial software has precise licensing and usage requirements, which means that it is associated with a well-documented guarantee with support behind it. As identified above, the methodology is efficient because only the individuals or team who developed it can inspect, edit, and enhance it. As a result, the methodology is considered less susceptible to hackers than the open-source methodology, in which the hacking community is familiar with its codes (Host & Orucevic-Alagic, 2011). The commercial software has a single point of contact for all organizational problems, such that, if an issue arises, the software has a tangible counterparty for addressing it. Further, the software will be efficient because it has a well-defined upgrade and development plan. The plan will ensure that the organization provides timely updates, thus, preventing expenses associated with technical failures.
References
Dingsøyr, T., Nerur, S., Balijepally, V., & Moe, N. (2012). A decade of agile methodologies: Towards explaining agile software development. Journal Of Systems and Software, 85(6), 1213-1221. doi: 10.1016/j.jss.2012.02.033
Host, M., & Orucevic-Alagic, A. (2011). A systematic review of research on open-source software in commercial software product development. Information And Software Technology, 53(6), 616-624. doi: 10.1016/j.infsof.2010.12.009