Value-Based Processes for COTS-Based Applications
IEEE Software
Assessing COTS integration risk using cost estimation inputs
Proceedings of the 28th international conference on Software engineering
A Framework for Identification and Resolution of Interoperability Mismatches in COTS-Based Systems
IWICSS '07 Proceedings of the Second International Workshop on Incorporating COTS Software into Software Systems: Tools and Techniques
COTS Selection Best Practices in Literature and in Industry
ICSR '08 Proceedings of the 10th international conference on Software Reuse: High Confidence Software Reuse in Large Systems
Component Point: A system-level size measure for Component-Based Software Systems
Journal of Systems and Software
Process patterns for COTS-Based development
SPW'05 Proceedings of the 2005 international conference on Unifying the Software Process Spectrum
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This dissertation discusses changes in software development practice that have occurred since the 1970s. In particular, the focus is on the rise of the “off-the-shelf”approach whereby large software systems are constructed out of a mix of original code and adapted code as well as pre-existing “black box” components for which the developer has no access to the source code. While certainly used prior to 1980, this technique of using black box elements has taken on greatly increased importance in recent years as one way to manage development risks as the overall complexity of software has grown. Software estimation models, however, have generally not kept apace with off-the-shelf techniques. This includes the widely-used COCOMO software estimation model. While recently updated as the COCOMO II estimation model to reflect other changes in software development since its original publication in 1981, it still is unable to accommodate the use of black box off-the-shelf components in its estimation framework. The focus of this dissertation then is the investigation of a potential extension of COCOMO II that is intended to provide an estimation capability for any off-the-shelf elements being designed into a software system. It begins with an exploration of how development activities differ when using off-the-shelf components as opposed to developing system components as original code. This serves as a basis for the formulation of an off the-shelf estimation model called COCOTS that is carried through several iterations, each intended to improve upon its predecessor. The dissertation concludes with a comparison of the fidelity of COCOTS with COCOMO II, limitations of available project data that impacted the calibration of COCOTS, and suggestions for further investigation that might improve the fidelity of COCOTS itself and also expand and deepen the general understanding of the benefits and risks of using off-the-shelf components in software system development.