# Data Anonymization: An Experimental Evaluation Using Open-Source Tools
## 4 OSSpal Methodology  
The OSSpal methodology was created in the Business Readiness Rating (BRR) project, in 2005 [13]. This methodology aims to evaluate open-source tools using a set of categories, to help users and organizations to find the best open-source software. The seven categories used to evaluate the software are the following [14]:  
1. Functionality
2. Operational Software Characteristics
3. Support and Services
4. Documentation
5. Software Technology Attributes
6. Community and Adaption
7. Development Process  
The assessment process of the OSSpal methodology for all categories, except for the functionality category, is composed of four phases [14]:  
* In the **first phase**, the software components are identified and selected to be evaluated according to some criteria. * In the **second phase**, the weights for the criteria and measures are assigned, where each criterion has a percentage. The total percentage of the sum of all criteria must be 100%. For each measure within a category, it is necessary to rank the measure following its importance and assign it. * In the **third phase**, some data are collected to help the user to calculate the weight in a range between 1 and 5 (1--Unacceptable, 2--Poor, 3--Acceptable, 4--Very Good, 5--Excellent). * Finally, in the **fourth phase**, the OSSpal final score is calculated. The 'Functionality' category is calculated differently to the others. The first thing to do is choose the characteristics to evaluate, and attribute a score to them. The score of each category ranges from 1 to 3 (1--less important, 2--important, 3--most important). The categories are classified in this range. Then, the first results should be standardized on a scale from 1 to 5. This category will have the following scale:  
* Under 65%--score = 1 (Unacceptable)
* 65% to 80%--score = 2 (Poor)
* 80% to 90%--score = 3 (Acceptable)
* 90% to 96%--score = 4 (Very Good)
* 96% to 100%--score = 5 (Excellent)  
To assign a percentage for each category, it is important to know exactly what each one of them represents [14]:* Functionality--this category evaluates if the software is according to the user requirements. * Operational Software Characteristics--evaluates if the software is saved, has a reliable performance, the user interface exists or works correctly, and is easy to use, install, configure, maintain, and deploy. * Support and Services--verifies if the software has good community or commercial support. It also evaluates if the organization gives training to help with the software usage. * Documentation--evaluates if the existing documentation is good enough to help with the tool. * Software Technology Attributes--with this criterion, it is verified if the software architecture is good enough, and the software is portable, extensible, open, and easy to integrate. It is also verified whether the code, design, and tests have the needed quality, if it is bug-free, and if it is complete. * Community and Adaption--measures if the software community is active and if the component is well-accepted by the community. * Development Process--rates how good the professionalism is at the development point and project organization. For each category, the following percentages were defined:  
* Functionality--30%
* Operational Software Characteristics--20%
* Support and Services--10%
* Documentation--10%
* Software Technology Attributes--15%
* Community and Adaption--5%
* Development Process--10%  
Functionality is the category with the highest percentage (30%) because the software must comply with the user's needs. After Functionality comes Operational Software Characteristics (20%). A graphical user interface should be a mandatory requirement in a tool due to the inherent complexity of the subject. Therefore, a graphical interface is very helpful in the process of anonymizing a dataset. Furthermore, easy operation is an important requirement for each tool. Software Technology Attributes have a value of 15% because it is important that software does not have bugs and it should be as complete as possible.