Advance Information System Security: SpiraTeam ALM
Cybersecurity concerns have recently become prevalent among varied organizations, presenting credible and real threats to business organizations when they occur. Cyber security attacks that are complex, of diverse nature and of unprecedented scale are possible to result in huge economic losses to the business organization. Specifically, business organizations must guard against determined efforts by cyber security attackers to gain access to commercially sensitive data that include key negotiating positions, gaining access to unauthorized government information, exploitation of information systems security weaknesses that target its business partners, subsidiaries and supply chain both home and abroad, and stealing of intellectual property of business organizations. More and more business organizations are becoming more concerned about the high magnitude and inconsistent tempo of security attacks (Dhillon & Backhouse, 2000). They, therefore, must ensure that the software that they implement for their business processes has been developed through credible application development management tools so that it can be capable of mitigating risks from cyber security attackers. Often, business organizations are almost never prepared for serious and advanced persistent threats to their information system, mainly because they lack enough monetary resources to budget for acquisition of the best technology to solve security threats. The lack of preparedness among organizations is also compounded by the fact that most organizations do not invest heavily in carrying out studies to recognize the types and magnitude of cyber-attacks before they happen. For this reason, the concern of most business organizations is to ensure they purchase software that they are sure has been developed using a lifecycle model that has been tested so as to mitigate against losses and, minimize weaknesses that attackers can exploit to launch attacks. This paper is an examination of SpiraTeam which “is an integrated Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) system” and how it could be applied by MDCyber’s clients to develop trustworthy innovative cyber security threat detection and analysis applications that utilize tight configuration control throughout its entire lifecycle.
SpiraTeam, as developed by Inflectra, is an ALM system which manages software products requirements, test cases, issues, releases, and related tasks in a single integrated environment. It has customizable dashboards that hold key software product information and allows the project team to have control of the complete project lifespan ("Features of SpiraTeam, Our Online Collaboration Software. Try it Today!", 2016). This product also makes it possible for synchronization of the development and testing phases of the software product that were hitherto in separate worlds. The advantages of this product are that it can be integrated with third party tools to make development work easier and comprehensive, has strong customization capabilities and that it has major key components that are needed for software development. This ALM System is also easier to use when developing software with live support available from the vendor. This product is, however, limited in that the reports that are generated during its use in software development lack enough graphical representations and the reports cannot be genuinely customized according to the requirements of project managers, and business analysts in managing the entire software lifecycle from requirement through testing to delivery.
SpiraTeam Application Lifecycle Management tool is easy to use and track test cases and releases, reporting capability that is forthright and simple to use, a support team that is excellent in answering the queries of the users and an easy capability to track software requirements against test cases. The product also has an ability to import or export projects from one machine to another, and that project team members can copy test cases from a given project to another (Capterra Inc., 2016).
SpiraTeam ALM System is an easy to use system in developing security applications because it links everything together. It provides an opportunity for software developers to collaborate with project managers as well as the clients who will purchase the product that will be developed. By allowing collaboration and communication, this system makes it possible for the user requirements to be taken care of while ensuring that the software product addresses defects that may arise when the software is under development through execution of test cases. This product is also important in providing test scripts that have been guided by the vendor that can be created in the dashboard and can be verified independently by software testers in the company. This product is also an important tool in tracking requirements of the Software to the overall functions of the developed product through spreadsheet templates that are provided in the dashboard. When the reporting capabilities are used during security applications development, it is possible to detect early faults and defects that arise in an application before it is tested and deployed. This will reduce risks impacts from perceived vulnerabilities. This product has superior powers in enabling sufficient, organized and comprehensive documentation throughout the product lifecycle using layouts that have been preinstalled. This makes detecting defects, weaknesses and risks easier during and after software development.
References
Dhillon, G., & Backhouse, J. (2000). Technical opinion: Information system security management in the new millennium. Communications of the ACM, 43(7), 125-128.
Features of SpiraTeam, Our Online Collaboration Software. Try it Today!. (2016). Inflectra.com. Retrieved 7 June 2016, from http://www.inflectra.com/SpiraTeam/Highlights/Features-Checklist.aspx
Capterra Inc. (2016). Reviews of SpiraTeam : Free Pricing & Demos : Application Lifecycle Management Software. Capterra.com. Retrieved 7 June 2016, from http://www.capterra.com/application-lifecycle-management-software/spotlight/85434/SpiraTeam/Inflectra
