MSc in Resilience, Assurance, and Risk Management for Computer-Based Systems
Course Content
8 core module(s):
Click on a module title to display key features.- Introduction to Dependability and Resilience
- Identify basic computing-related risks in an operation environment using computers.
- Use a standard hazard analysis technique for identifying risks.
- Identify trade-offs between dependability requirements.
- Be attentive to risk and balances between productivity, innovation and risk and between types of risk.
- Identify risk containment needs and produce preliminary analyses of possible defences selected from both avoidance and mitigation techniques, both technical and organisational
- Identify basic cost-benefit trade-offs in the application of defences and explain the human and organisational factors affecting risk and risk containment
- Produce arguments to make management aware of risk and of the need for risk control investment; recognise basic fallacies in such arguments
- Software Dependability and Software Risk Management
- Evaluate and use appropriate tools and methods described in the module for assessment of dependability.
- Make reasonable plans for software measurement to monitor and control a software development and manage project risks.
- Use software measurement to assess the achieved levels of the attributes and characteristics during a realistic software product trial and during operation using a similar systematic approach.
- Analyse software engineering data using statistical analysis techniques including software reliability growth modelling.
- Information Security Assurance and Digital Forensics
- Select and apply relevant standards, regulations and guidelines to improve information assurance.
- Identify information risks, select relevant security controls and plan their implementation.
- Apply some digital forensic tools and procedures taught, and understand the implications of all the important techniques, for risk, safety, security analysis.
- Identify the implications of applicable regulations and standards for an information assurance management problem.
- Socio-Technical Systems, Risk and Resilience
- Apply some human error assessment tools and procedures, and understand the implications of relevant techniques for risk and resilience.
- Identify the potential problems associated with human error and automation surprises.
- Apply a method for human error assessment, at a basic level, with reference to a specific problem.
- Detect and explain the standard fallacies with respect to human error and computerised decision support
- Fault Tolerance, Redundancy and Diversity: Design and Analysis Techniques for Resilience
- Identify possibilities for operation-time protective and mitigating measures in relation to computing risks.
- Identify candidate fault tolerance techniques for a specific problem with the factors determining their costs, benefits and limitations.
- Recognise the basic differences between the benefits and costs of different fault tolerant designs; match designs to requirements.
- Identify trade-offs in the application of redundancy and diversity with respect to requirements of reliability, availability, safety, security.
- Probabilistic Modelling of Dependability for Computer-Based Systems
- Select and apply relevant probabilistic/statistical models and tools to achieve / assess resilience and assurance.
- Demonstrate awareness of the need for caution in making claims based on statistical evidence / probabilistic reasoning and scepticism in interpreting the claims made by others.
- Identify fallacious reasoning in statistical reports / probabilistic arguments.
- Develop an appropriate probabilistic model and use it to assess dependability / resilience of an outlined computer based system.
- Techniques for Software Correctness
- Apply mathematical concepts to express properties of systems in a way that avoids the ambiguities of natural language.
- Devise unambiguous claims and accurate arguments to support them.
- Evaluate and use appropriate tools and techniques.
- Capture requirements for individual software modules and larger systems in a formal mathematical notation and construct simple proofs of correctness
- Assurance Cases for Security, Safety and Dependability
- Select and apply relevant standards, regulations and guidelines.
- Apply some assurance case tools and understand the implications of the important techniques, for risk, safety, security analysis.
- Consider the interests of all stakeholders in developing assurance (safety, security, reliability) cases.
- Identify the types of claims and how these might be derived from safety, hazard and vulnerability analyses.
- Identify the types of arguments that can be credibly used for computer based systems including analytical, empirical and compliance styles of argument.
- Identify the types of evidence that can be used to substantiate arguments.
You will also undertake an individual research project or industrial internship.