About

Joanna F. DeFranco is an Associate Professor of Software Engineering at Penn State Great Valley, where she also serves as the Associate Director of the Doctor of Engineering in Engineering Program (World Campus). She earned her Ph.D. in computer and information science from the New Jersey Institute of Technology, her M.S. in computer engineering from Villanova University, and her B.S. in Electrical Engineering and Math from Penn State University. Her professional background includes work as an Electronics Engineer for the Navy and as a Software Engineer at Motorola. Dr. DeFranco is a guest researcher at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), working with the Secure Systems and Applications group. Her research interests encompass software engineering, software security, distributed networks, and the Internet of Things.

Research topics

• Computer Science
• Computer Security
• Artificial Intelligence
• Political Science
• Business
• Knowledge management
• Psychology
• Human–computer interaction
• Internet privacy
• Natural resource economics
• Economics
• Telecommunications
• Law
• Engineering
• Mathematics
• Mathematics education
• Embedded system
• Environmental economics
• Microeconomics
• Engineering management

Selected publications

• The RS Publication Roundup

  IEEE reliability magazine · 2026-01-01

  article1st authorCorresponding

  In this edition of the RS Roundup, we chose to highlight publications deemed popular as the IEEE database. These are articles worth highlighting due to their current popularity and visibility within the research community.

  PublisherDOI

• Unleashing the Potential of Large Language Models: A Blueprint for Real-Time, Enterprise-Ready Deployments

  Computer · 2026-04-01

  articleSenior author

  This article describes a practical “always updating” architecture for large language model pipelines by connecting to streaming data, learning and fact-checking, and automatically improving from errors and human feedback to remain timely, reliable, and fast.

  PublisherDOI

• The RS Publication Roundup

  IEEE reliability magazine · 2026-02-09

  article1st authorCorresponding

  In this edition of the RS Roundup, AI emerges as a key enabler of reliability in complex systems. The papers selected span a wide range of AI/ML applications.

  PublisherDOI

• Smart Factory Decision Making in Global Regulated Manufacturing

  Computer · 2026-02-01

  articleSenior author

  Smart factory capabilities have become an expectation for global, highly regulated manufacturers seeking to stay competitive and leverage emerging technologies. Future research on smart factory adoption in global, highly regulated contexts must first identify literature-reported challenges to guide solutions.

  PublisherDOI

• Discovering Proxy Systems to Test Critical AI Systems: A Metadata-Driven Software Similarity Approach

  Computer · 2026-02-20

  article

  This article describes a practical approach for finding “software twins,” noncritical proxy systems that mirror critical artificial intelligence-enabled systems and can be safely abused during testing, even when proprietary source code cannot be accessed for direct comparison.

  PublisherDOI

• To Be Forgotten

  Computer · 2025-12-01

  article1st authorCorresponding

  In broad terms, we value being remembered for legacy and accountability. Yet we might also need the option to be virtually forgotten, to protect privacy and retain control of personal data.

  PublisherDOI

• Implementing Peer tutoring in an online course

  2025-01-17 · 1 citations

  articleOpen access

  Previous research in a large scale experiment provided no evidence that working on a successful and effective team had a positive effect on individual student performance.Thus, to facilitate individual learning, we implemented peer tutoring while students worked on an effective team in an online graduate software engineering course.This paper presents an online peer tutoring design.The results of a constant comparative qualitative analysis will be presented in order to provide insight into the success of this peer tutoring implementation.I.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Citizen Development, Low-Code/No-Code Platforms, and the Evolution of Generative AI in Software Development

  Computer · 2025-04-18 · 3 citations

  articleSenior author

  The demand for faster software solutions exceeds the supply of skilled software developers. More businesses will adopt citizen development frameworks and generative AI tools; however, this solution adds some challenges for project governance and security.

  PublisherDOI

• The Blue Pill Attack as a Wake-Up Call

  Computer · 2025-05-23

  articleSenior author

  Prioritizing Internet of Things security today is crucial to protecting data, lives, economies, and the stability of national infrastructure. Immediate action is necessary to mitigate emerging threats and ensure long-term resilience.

  PublisherDOI

• The RS Publication Roundup

  IEEE reliability magazine · 2025-01-29

  article1st authorCorresponding

  The Reliability Society (RS) sponsors nine publications, including this publication—Reliability Magazine. These supported publications are a mix of both academic journals and professional magazines.

  PublisherDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Kathryn Jablokow

  Pennsylvania State University

  47 shared

• Jeffrey Voas

  47 shared

• Sven G. Bilén

  Pennsylvania State University

  44 shared

• A. David Gordon

  The Ohio State University

  42 shared

• Colin J. Neill

  Pennsylvania State University

  31 shared

• Mohamad Kassab

  Pennsylvania State University

  27 shared

• Nir Kshetri

  Bryan College

  20 shared

• Phillip A. Laplante

  Hydro-Québec

  14 shared