Research

Practitioner research organized around four recurring problems in regulated, multi-vendor enterprise software delivery. Each theme is underpinned by an original framework — see the Frameworks page for full technical detail.

Theme 01

Regulatory Interpretation Alignment

Overview

Examines how regulatory intent is translated — and frequently distorted — as it passes through multiple vendors, systems, and interpretation layers in enterprise software delivery.

Problem Statement

In multi-vendor regulated environments, no single party owns the full chain from regulatory text to executable acceptance criteria. Each vendor interprets requirements independently, producing systems that individually pass testing but collectively diverge from regulatory intent.

Research Contributions

Definition and characterization of the Regulatory Interpretation Gap (RIG) as a diagnostic construct; development of the Acceptance Translation Layer (ATL) as an operational mechanism to reduce interpretation drift across vendor boundaries.

Related Publications

IEEE Access manuscript — under review
PNSQC 2026 paper — selected through peer review
Zenodo preprint — publicly available (view)

Conference Presentations

See Presentations

Future Research

Extension of the RIG/ATL model toward AI-assisted regulatory interpretation alignment.

Theme 02

Release Readiness Governance

Overview

Investigates why a fully passed UAT cycle does not guarantee a stable production release, and proposes governance structures to close that gap.

Problem Statement

Release sign-off is typically based on test-pass rates rather than a structured assessment of readiness. Releases that "passed" still fail in production because passing tests do not verify the same thing as being ready to release.

Research Contributions

A practitioner framework identifying recurring failure patterns between UAT completion and release stability, and a governance checklist for release-readiness assessment distinct from test completion.

Related Publications

"Why a UAT Pass Does Not Mean Release Readiness" — practitioner article submitted to Ministry of Testing

Conference Presentations

See Presentations

Future Research

Formalizing the release-readiness governance checklist into a scored, reproducible assessment model.

Theme 03

Testability Coverage

Overview

Develops a measurable standard for testability — how much of a system's behavior can actually be verified — as distinct from test coverage or pass/fail metrics.

Problem Statement

Existing coverage metrics measure what was tested, not what can be reliably tested. Systems can show high test-pass rates while significant portions of their behavior remain effectively unverifiable.

Research Contributions

Introduction of Testability Coverage Rate (TCR), a metric and methodology for quantifying testability at the system level, presented as The Untestable Gap: Testability Coverage Rate as a Missing Release Readiness Metric in Multi-Vendor Regulated Systems.

Related Publications

"The Untestable Gap: Testability Coverage Rate as a Missing Release Readiness Metric in Multi-Vendor Regulated Systems" — accepted for presentation, QRS 2026 Industry Track

Conference Presentations

See Presentations

Future Research

Validation of TCR against production incident data across multiple enterprise systems.

Theme 04

Enterprise UAT Governance

Overview

Addresses governance structure for User Acceptance Testing in multi-vendor, regulated enterprise programs — where UAT ownership, criteria, and sign-off authority are frequently fragmented.

Problem Statement

Multi-vendor UAT programs commonly lack a single governing authority over acceptance criteria, producing inconsistent sign-off standards between vendors.

Research Contributions

Governance model for UAT ownership and acceptance-criteria alignment across vendor boundaries, drawn from 13+ years of practitioner experience in healthcare, insurance, and government implementations.

Related Publications

Shares source material with Themes 01 and 02 above.

Conference Presentations

See Presentations

Future Research

Development of a standalone UAT governance maturity model for regulated enterprise programs.