The Board on Mathematical Sciences (BMS), National Research Council (NRC), through its Committee on Applied and Theoretical Statistics (CATS) will establish a panel to produce a report spotlighting problem areas in software engineering to which the application of modern statistical methodology can be fruitfully applied. The report will both emphasize the relevance of employing rigorous statistical and probabilistic techniques in software engineering contexts, and delineate opportunities for further research in this direction. It will address education and training of software engineers in statistical methodology, and of statisticians interested in software engineering. The panel will be composed of software engineers (including human factors specialists), applied probabilists, and statisticians. The report will influence software engineering by exhibiting methods for assessing software productivity, quality, reliability, risk, safety, and management of software development process. It will outline a program of research in the statistical sciences and their applications to software engineering. As a subsidiary benefit, this report will influence other closely related disciplines, e.g., applied mathematics, operations research, computer science, systems engineering, industrial engineering, and quality control.
