Cots based software development

Starting from these empirical observations, a new process and set of guidelines for cotsbased development are developed and briefly presented. I could go on, but a list of commercialofftheshelf cots and software asaservice saas applications is not the point of this article. Cots based software development and integration csiac. Transitioning to a new development paradigm requires many kinds of changes, but the most important concerns the development process. Todays need for rapid software development has generated a great interest in employing commercialofftheshelf cots software products as a way of managing cost, developing time, and effort. The development of cots based systems largely depends on the success of the selection process. Existing sequential or iterative development methods and techniques are no longer relevant. I am often involved in tenders for new pieces of software development work. Overlooked aspects of cotsbased development ieee software. Security considerations in managing cots software best practices. This activity encompasses the evaluation of cots packages against customer. The work described in this paper is an investigation of cotsbased software development within a particular nasa environment, with an emphasis on the processes used.

Cots software products radically change the way in which software systems are developed. The focus was to learn, mature, and transition principles, methods, and techniques for creating systems from commercial offtheshelf cots. Custom development starts with the system requirements and creates a system that meets them. Developing new processes for cots based systems lisa brownsword, tricia oberndorf, and carol a. Finally a process to support cotsbased development is proposed, and emerging standards and techniques for component integration are discussed. This strategy was experimented at nasa by considering 15 discrete projects. Fifteen projects using a cots based approach were studied and their actual process was documented. Pdf modern software developers are guided by a variety of formal and informal processes that organize and control development activities across large. Auto suggestions are available once you type at least 3 letters. In particular, the use of commercial offtheshelf cots. Strategy defines direction, requires knowledge of desired outcomes, and influences decisions on the allocation of time, people, and money. It describes changes in the software maintenance process that are needed to manage a cots based. The content of this paper was generated from the work of the sei cots based systems cbs initiative. Commercial offtheshelf, component based, cots, empirical study, software development process.

Taking a cots based approach to implementing enterprise gis. Keywords commercial offtheshelf, cots, componentbased, empirical study, software development process. For the purposes of this paper, cotsbased is the term used to indicate component or packagebased developmentrapid configuration of software systems based on cots packages, government offtheshelf gots packages, and some custombuilt reusable packages. The quality of resulting systems is not measuring up to expectations. Investigating and improving a cotsbased software development process abstract. The central part is dedicated to survey methods and techniques that can be useful in cots based development. A management guide to software maintenance in cots. Software development is increasingly moving away from processes to compose purecustom software from lines of code, toward processes for assessment. Cots project management strategy from a state government.

The central part is dedicated to survey methods and techniques that can be useful in cotsbased development. Security considerations in managing cots software cisa. The decision whether to use a cots product or build a custom software product should always be based. For reuse, the components may be developed in house using components based software engineering cbse or they may be commercial off the shelf. Introduction the world of software development has evolved rapidlyinthelastdecade. Cots products often have customized configurations, but may also be solutions in which the base product deviates into a modifiedofftheshelf mots solution. Component based development either as cots components or oss. So instead you approach a software development company to create a custom piece of software to meet every business challenge you have. Almost all software bought by the average computer user fits into the cots category. Cbs development is an act of composition cotsbased system development involves composition and reconciliation, whereas custom system development is an act of creation. Keywords commercial offtheshelf, cots, component based, empirical study, software development process.

A management guide to software maintenance in cotsbased. Cots, mots, gots, and nots are abbreviations that describe prepackaged software or less commonly hardware purchase alternatives. Finally a process to support cots based development. Pdf a software development process for cotsbased information. For a cots solution strategy, there needs to be a diligent assessment process. Software development you are reading this web page for a reason. The work described in this paper is an investigation of the cotsbased software development within a particular nasa environment, with an emphasis on the. Commercial offtheshelf or commercially available offtheshelf cots products are packaged solutions which are then adapted to satisfy the needs of the purchasing organization, rather than the commissioning of custommade, or bespoke, solutions. Taking a cotsbased approach to implementing enterprise gis.

For example, microsoft office is a cots product that is a packaged software solution for businesses. Cotsbased software development acm digital library. As one of over 40 software development teams at csg, our best practices are built on a company culture. Presents a cots based system cbs software defectreduction list as hypotheses, rather than results, that also serve as software challenges for enhancing our empirical understanding of cbss.

This process is evaluated to identify essential differences in comparison to traditional software development. I frequently come across tender documents full of questions that scream we are expecting to use a cots. How does your software development team define their best practices. It describes changes in the software maintenance process that are needed to manage a cotsbased system. It provides guidance in developing a cots software lifecycle management plan. Often, when government looks to recompete or start a new it project, theyre presented with a commercial offtheshelf cots solution that promises to do exactly what is needed outofthebox. What requirements to specify for cots and saas projects. Risk reduction in cots software selection with basis. It likely that you are outgrowing your existing methods of tracking and managing your business data, and you have heard that a commercial or custom software. Then it lists and discusses pros, cons and issues in cots based development. It considers the issues and risks in using cots software over the life cycle and how to control them. Citeseerx document details isaac councill, lee giles, pradeep teregowda. Most software related organizations still build software from scratch, omitting thousands of readybuilt commercially available software components that could be used very effectively during the development.

Sledge software engineering institute although commercial offtheshelf cots products are becoming increasingly popular, little information is available on how they affect existing software development. Cots products are designed to be easily installed and to interoperate with existing system components. Cots software selection process ieee conference publication. With an abundance of cots software packages to choose from, the problem now is how to systematically evaluate, rank, and select a cots product that best meets the software. Short for commercial offtheshelf, an adjective that describes software or hardware products that are readymade and available for sale to the general public. A process to cotsbased software development is devised based on various sdlc processes varying with projects. The following discussion gives a brief characterization of cots selection and integration. Process patterns for cotsbased development springerlink. These components are successfully integrated and constitute an important part of the final product. The work described in this paper is an investigation of the cotsbased software development within a particular nasa environment, with an emphasis on the processes used. Improving cotsbased software development process by. Software development best practices from 16 top cos. The work described in this paper is an investigation of the cotsbased software development.

This empirical study establishes key features of industrial cots based development and creates a definition of cots. Organizations are moving toward cotsbased software development with limited success. A cots commercial offtheshelf product is one that is used asis. An activity framework for cotsbased systems tricia oberndorf lisa brownsword carol a. Commercial offtheshelf, cots, component based, empirical study, software development process. Cotsbased software development within a particular nasa environment, with an emphasis on the processes used.

Cots software, software maintenance, cotsbased system, lifecycle planning, sustainment. Cots software came with many notsoobvious tradeoffs a reduction in initial cost and development time over an increase in software componentintegration. Cbse versus cots based software development semantic scholar. Studies on commercialofftheshelf based development often disagree, lack product and project details, and are founded on uncritically accepted assumptions. The work described in the paper is an investigation of cots based software development within a particular nasa environment, with an emphasis on the processes used. Cotsbased systems cbs are cots solutions in which at least 50% of a system is based on a cots product. Do we need requirements in cotsbased software development.