Evaluating the benefits of security feature location

Determine appropriate evaluation methods and metrics for measuring the effects of security feature location on security reviews, incident response, compliance assessment, and other security tasks, including whether improved task performance produces better security outcomes.

Background

The practical value of security feature location depends on whether it improves concrete security tasks and decisions. The paper identifies a need for task-specific evaluation methods, metrics, and ground-truth datasets, while leaving unresolved how to measure improvements and connect them to actual security outcomes.

References

But what are appropriate evaluation methods and metrics for such tasks, and how can we assess whether improvements in task performance translate into better security outcomes?

— The Security Feature Location Problem  (2609.04899 - Hermann et al., 4 Sep 2026) in Section 5, Research Challenges, subsection “C3.1: What are the benefits of security feature location?”

But how can we measure the overhead of security feature location?

— The Security Feature Location Problem  (2609.04899 - Hermann et al., 4 Sep 2026) in Section 5, Research Challenges, subsection “C3.2: What is the overhead of locating security features?”