AppSec Maturity Assessment
OWASP SAMM scoring across 15 security practices, BSIMM industry benchmark positioning, gap analysis, and a risk-prioritized AppSec improvement roadmap — independently assessed.
Assess · Benchmark · Prioritize · Report
OWASP SAMM survey and scoring, BSIMM industry benchmarking, risk-weighted improvement prioritization, and board-ready deliverables.
OWASP SAMM Maturity Survey & Scoring
Conducting an OWASP Software Assurance Maturity Model (SAMM) assessment — structured interviews with engineering, security, and leadership stakeholders, evidence review across all five SAMM business functions (Governance, Design, Implementation, Verification, Operations), and maturity scoring across all 15 security practices on the 0–3 scale.
- Stakeholder interview facilitation (engineering leads, CISO, DevOps)
- Evidence review across SAMM Governance, Design, Implementation, Verification, Operations
- Maturity scoring on all 15 SAMM security practices
- Gap analysis to next maturity level for each practice
BSIMM Industry Peer Benchmarking
Comparing your AppSec program maturity against BSIMM (Building Security in Maturity Model) industry benchmark data — scored against 121 observed software security activities across 12 practices, with positioning relative to organizations in your industry sector and of your engineering organization size.
- BSIMM activity scoring (121 observed activities, 12 practices)
- Industry sector peer comparison (financial, healthcare, tech, retail)
- Engineering size cohort benchmarking
- Identification of activities with highest adoption in your peer group
Risk-Based AppSec Improvement Roadmap
Synthesizing SAMM assessment results and BSIMM benchmark data into a prioritized AppSec improvement roadmap — identifying the highest-value improvements ranked by risk reduction per investment, sequenced into 12-month, 24-month, and 36-month implementation horizons with estimated resource requirements.
- Risk-weighted improvement prioritization
- Investment-to-risk-reduction mapping for each initiative
- 12/24/36-month implementation roadmap
- Board-ready executive presentation package
You Can't Improve What You Can't Measure
Most organizations invest in AppSec tools and activities based on what they're aware of — what they've seen at a conference, what a vendor recommended, or what a recent audit identified. An OWASP SAMM assessment provides a structured, evidence-based view of your entire program — identifying not just what you're doing, but what you're missing and what the gaps cost you in security risk.
BSIMM benchmarking adds industry context — showing how your program compares to peers in your sector. Without this context, it's impossible to know whether your program is appropriate for your industry, underfunded, or ahead of market expectations.
Misaligned Investments
Organizations commonly invest in tools before establishing the governance to action findings — SAMM assessment prevents this sequencing error.
Quantitative Baseline
A SAMM maturity score creates accountability — enabling year-over-year progress tracking and demonstrating AppSec ROI to leadership.
BSIMM Benchmarking
BSIMM peer comparison shows where your program stands relative to industry — essential context for board-level investment decisions.
Top Quartile Impact
Organizations in the top BSIMM quartile experience 32% fewer high-severity security incidents annually vs. the bottom quartile.
5-Phase AppSec Maturity Assessment
From scoping and stakeholder interviews through SAMM scoring, BSIMM benchmarking, and roadmap delivery.
Assessment Scoping & Stakeholder Identification
Defining the assessment scope (single business unit vs. enterprise-wide), identifying key stakeholders for interviews (engineering leads, product managers, security team, DevOps/platform engineering, legal/compliance), and agreeing on the SAMM business function priorities most relevant to the organization's maturity goals.
SAMM Survey & Evidence Collection
Conducting structured OWASP SAMM interviews with identified stakeholders — 60–90 minute sessions per function area. Collecting supporting evidence: policy documents, security testing reports, threat model artifacts, training completion records, incident response runbooks, and pipeline security configuration screenshots.
Maturity Scoring Across All 15 Security Practices
Scoring the organization on all 15 SAMM security practices across five business functions — Governance (Strategy, Policy, Education), Design (Threat Assessment, Security Requirements, Security Architecture), Implementation (Secure Build, Secure Deployment, Defect Management), Verification (Architecture Assessment, Requirements-Driven Testing, Security Testing), and Operations (Incident Management, Environment Management, Operational Management).
BSIMM Benchmarking & Industry Comparison
Scoring observed software security activities from BSIMM's 121-activity framework to position the program against BSIMM benchmark data. Comparing the organization's maturity against the BSIMM data set for the relevant industry sector (FSI, healthcare, technology, retail) and engineering organization size cohort.
Roadmap Delivery & Executive Presentation
Delivering a comprehensive assessment report — current state maturity scores for all 15 practices, BSIMM benchmark position, gap analysis to next maturity levels, risk-prioritized improvement roadmap with 12/24/36-month horizons, and resource requirement estimates. An executive presentation version distills findings for CISO, CTO, and board-level consumption.
All 5 SAMM Domains — Complete Program Assessment
Governance, Design, Implementation, Verification, and Operations — plus BSIMM benchmarking and a prioritized improvement roadmap.
SAMM Governance Domain
Assessment of Strategy & Metrics (AppSec strategy formulation, program KPIs), Policy & Compliance (AppSec policy enforcement, compliance integration), and Education & Guidance (developer security training program, security champion model).
SAMM Design Domain
Assessment of Threat Assessment (threat modeling methodology, STRIDE application to architecture reviews), Security Requirements (security requirements in user stories, abuse case development), and Security Architecture (secure design patterns, component selection security).
SAMM Implementation Domain
Assessment of Secure Build (SAST, SCA, secret scanning in CI/CD), Secure Deployment (deployment pipeline security, environment hardening), and Defect Management (vulnerability management workflow, SLA policy, metrics).
SAMM Verification Domain
Assessment of Architecture Assessment (design review process, security review gates), Requirements-Driven Testing (security test case design, coverage measurement), and Security Testing (DAST, penetration testing, bug bounty programs).
SAMM Operations Domain
Assessment of Incident Management (incident response capability, detection and containment maturity), Environment Management (security hardening standards, patch management), and Operational Management (data classification, third-party risk management).
Maturity Improvement Roadmap
Prioritized improvement roadmap with risk-weighted initiative ranking, investment-to-risk-reduction mapping, 12/24/36-month phased implementation plan, estimated resource requirements, and success metrics for each initiative.
Independent Assessment — Investment-Grade Roadmap
An AppSec maturity assessment is only as valuable as the independence of the assessors. We deliver frank, evidence-based assessments aligned to your actual security risk — not vendor tool recommendations disguised as maturity guidance.
Evidence-Based Scoring
We don't accept self-reported maturity scores. Every SAMM maturity level claim is validated against evidence — policy documents, tool output screenshots, training records, pipeline configuration, and testing reports — ensuring the assessment reflects actual program state.
BSIMM Peer Context
SAMM scores tell you where you are on a scale of 0–3. BSIMM benchmarking tells you how you compare to your industry peers. Both perspectives are required to make informed investment decisions — absolute maturity and relative market position.
Investment-Prioritized Roadmap
We don't produce a list of everything you should improve. We produce a risk-weighted, investment-prioritized roadmap — the highest-value improvements ranked by risk reduction per dollar of investment, sequenced realistically for your team capacity.
Board-Ready Deliverables
CISO and board audiences need different deliverables than engineering teams. We produce both — a detailed technical assessment report for the security team and an executive presentation with program maturity visualization and investment case for CISO, CTO, and board presentations.
Assessment Frameworks & Standards
Frequently Asked Questions
Everything you need to know about AppSec maturity assessment
Baseline Your AppSec Program. Build the Right Roadmap.
Before investing in AppSec tooling or expanding your security team, understand where you are and what will produce the greatest risk reduction per dollar spent. An OWASP SAMM assessment gives you that clarity.
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