Improving process decisions in COTS-based development via risk-based prioritization: Research Sections

  • Authors:

  • Ye Yang;Barry Boehm

  • Affiliations:

  • Center for Software Engineering, University of Southern California, 941 W. 37th Place, SAL 330, Los Angeles, CA 90089 USA;Center for Software Engineering, University of Southern California, 941 W. 37th Place, SAL 330, Los Angeles, CA 90089 USA

  • Venue:
  • Software Process: Improvement and Practice - Special Issue on Software Process Simulation
  • Year:
  • 2007

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Abstract

Good project planning requires the use of appropriate process models as well as effective decision support techniques. However, current software process models provide very little Commercial Off-the-Shelf (COTS)-specific insight and guidance on helping COTS-based application developers to make better decisions with respect to their particular project situations. This article presents a risk-based prioritization approach that is used in the context of a COTS Process Decision Framework. This method is particularly useful in supporting many dominant decisions during a COTS-based development (CBD) process, such as establishing COTS assessment criteria, scoping and sequencing development activities, prioritizing features to be implemented in incremental development, etc. In this way, the method not only provides a basis for optimal COTS selection but also helps focus limited development resources on more critical tasks that represent greater risks. The article also shows the evaluation results of applying this approach on the COTS Process Decision Framework through an experiment. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.