Methods and tools for policy analysis

Policy-based management of computer systems, computer networks and devices is a critical technology especially for present and future systems characterized by large-scale systems with autonomous devices, such as robots and drones. Maintaining reliable policy systems requires efficient and effective analysis approaches to ensure that the policies verify critical properties, such as correctness and consistency. In this paper, we present an extensive overview of methods for policy analysis. Then, we survey policy analysis systems and frameworks that have been proposed and compare them under various dimensions. We conclude the paper by outlining novel research directions in the area of policy analysis.