University of Southern California Center for Systems and Software Engineering COTS Selection Sergio Romulo Salazar April 28, 2010

University of Southern California Center for Systems and Software Engineering Outline Background COTS Knowledge Base Benefits Challenges Questions 2 04/21/2010

University of Southern California Center for Systems and Software Engineering Background Living Advantage Contact Management System (VALE) –Manage fundraising campaign –Manage contacts LANI D – Base System –Assist in the management of large construction projects 3 04/21/2010

University of Southern California Center for Systems and Software Engineering Background COTS Selection Process –ICM guidelines assist in the evaluation of COTS products Filtering high-risk COTS combinations Evaluating integration costs (iStudio) –However, no tool to assist in the identification of COTS candidates Internet search result can be difficult to filter Limited COTS online documentation (Cost, support, Ease of integration/customization) 4 04/21/2010

University of Southern California Center for Systems and Software Engineering Background Salesforce –COTS product introduced to team by Living Advantage external consultant –Enabled our team to complete VALE system in one semester 5 04/21/2010

University of Southern California Center for Systems and Software Engineering Background Applied Knowledge: LANI D – Base System –Recognized that Salesforce could be applied to other projects –Used previous knowledge of Salesforce to convert LANI D-Base system from agile to NDI/NCS project –Completed project in one semester 6 04/21/2010

University of Southern California Center for Systems and Software Engineering COTS Knowledge Base Develop a knowledge base to store information regarding previously used COTS products COTS products would be searchable Stored based on a set of defined metrics Cost (License, Integration) Potential Uses Product Support Etc. 7 04/21/2010

University of Southern California Center for Systems and Software Engineering Challenges Defining metrics –What metrics should be used? –Poorly defined metrics could result in useless or excessive information Knowledge Base Maintenance –Updating COTS information Research would be needed to determine how challenges can be overcome 8 04/21/2010

University of Southern California Center for Systems and Software Engineering Benefits Decrease cost of development Reduce cost of identifying potential COTS products Leverage knowledge gained by previous csci 577 projects 9 04/21/2010

University of Southern California Center for Systems and Software Engineering Questions 10 04/21/2010

University of Southern California Center for Systems and Software Engineering Bibliography Abts, C. M. (1997). COTS Software Integration Cost Modeling Study. Los Angeles: University of Southern California. Bhuta, J., & Boehm, B. (N/A). A Framework for Identification and Resolution of Interoperability Mismatches in COTS-based Systems. Los Angeles: University of Southern California. Boehm, B., & Abts, C. (1999). COTS Integration: Plug and Pray? Management, /21/2010