1. 577 Process Patterns & Quality Management
October 4, 2017
©USC-CSSE

2. 4 focused ICSM Common Patterns
Process Patterns
Use Single Non-Developmental Item (NDI)
Agile
Architected Agile
Formal Methods
HW with embedded SW component
Indivisible IOC
NDI- intensive
Hybrid agile/ plan-driven system
Multi-owner system of systems
Family of systems
Brownfield
Services- Intensive
Market –Driven,
Services- Driven,
NDI-Driven
@USC CSSE

3. ICSM Process Patterns Process Pattern Example Architected Agile
Business data processing
Use Single NDI
Small website OR
NDI- intensive
Supply chain management
at least
30%
at most 70% CUSTOM CODE
AND/OR +
Services- Intensive
Community Services
at least
30%
at most 70% CUSTOM CODE
AND/OR +
@USC CSSE

4. Different Risk Patterns Yield Different Processes
Architected Agile
E.g. Business data processing
Use Single NDI
E.g. Accounting System
NDI-Intensive
E.g. Supply Chain Management
Services-Intensive
E.g. Community Services
@USC CSSE

5. Definitions of NDI / NCS
Non-Developmental Item
an item that is previously developed and available to use.
2 kinds of NDI
Application NDI : WordPress, Wiki
System NDI: MySQL, Apache
Related terms
COTS, GOTS, ROTS,
Reuse Code, Reuse library, Customer-furnished package
NCS or Net-Centric Services is an online service available to be accessed over the Internet such as Google services, Yahoo services, Google map, Twitter, Ning.com, Gmail, Facebook, Amazon payment, online currency converter and online dictionary.
Net-Centric Services is known as web service, web application, online application, cloud computing, and software-as-a-service.
@USC CSSE

6. Common NDIs in CSCI577 Application-NDI System-NDI
MS office, WordPerfect
OCR software
Business Works
Coldfusion, Dreamweaver
System-NDI
Language: PHP, C++, Java,
Database: MySQL
Server: Apache
Others: Java Libararies
@USC CSSE

7. Net-Centric Services (NCS)
an online service available to be accessed over the internet
Net-Centric Services includes
web service,
web application,
online application, and
software-as-a-service.
@USC CSSE

8. Common NCSs in CSCI577 Web services Content Management System
Google Services, Yahoo Services
Content Management System
Drupal, Joomla
e-learning system
Moodle, ILIAS, KEWL, Sakai, Dokeos
Payment Services
Amazon payment, Paypal, Google Checkout
Calendar
Google Calendar, liteCalendar, Vcalendar
Others
OpenCollection, Jumpy Forum, Facebook, Google Map
@USC CSSE

9. Why use NDI/NCS? Trade-off
Change in software development practice over the past 20 years
Build system with pre-existing software to reduce development and maintenance costs
Involve less development time and lower development cost by taking advantage of existing, market proven, vendor supported products.
Could develop a better version yourself or outsource but generally incur more expense and take longer to begin to capitalize on its benefits
Trade-off
Source code is not available to developers
Evolution is not under control of developers
Incompatibility, high volatility
@USC CSSE

10. Trade-Off’s for Tailoring
Tailoring effort can vary significantly depending on NDI/NCS package used
Automated tailoring tools
E.g. Microsoft Excel macro recorder
Extensive tailoring can cause much rework during NDI refresh cycles
Oracle: “Use our Business Processes”
Tailoring effort v/s functionality tradeoff
Minimum tailoring effort to obtain maximum possible functionality
Tailoring “easy to redo” during NDI refresh cycles
@USC CSSE

11. When is NDI/NCS right for you (1/2)
When they lie at the intersection of the three determinants of feasibility, and do so demonstrably better than could original code:
technical,
economic,
strategic constraints
@USC CSSE

12. When is NDI/NCS right for you (2/2)
Technical constraint
Ability supply the desired functionality at the required level of reliability
Economic constraint
Ability to be incorporated and maintained in the new system within the available budget and schedule
Strategic constraint
Ability to meet needs of the system operating environment--including technical, political, and legal considerations--now, and as environment is expected to evolve in the future
@USC CSSE

13. NDI/NCS is not a “Silver Bullet”
However, NDI/NCS is not a “Silver Bullet”
Involving short-term & long-term cost, evolution and associated risks
Requiring different processes w.r.t. new skill, knowledge, and abilities
If not handled well, resulting in difficulties to meet expected economic objectives, even causing tremendous cost and schedule overruns
Need for NDI/NCS-Oriented Processes
@USC CSSE

14. Selection of NDI/NCS Components
Assessment of:
Functional Win Conditions
capability offered
Performance Win Conditions
timing & sizing constraints
Others
cost/training/installation/maintenance/market trend / product line
@USC CSSE

15. NDI, NCS characteristics
Platform Independent
Yes / No
Yes
Required Internet Access
Common Standard No
Option of rejecting next release*
Change / upgrade control
Client /Server’s site
Server’s site
End user has the latest version
Database Ownership
Yes/No
* Will you be able to freeze the version you are using?
@USC CSSE

16. Lessons Learned Using NDI (1/6)
Problems with vendors
Vendors promise and don’t deliver
Products don’t work as advertised
Don’t assume a quantity discount, negotiate price upfront
Need for flexibility in defining requirements
Distinguish between essential and negotiable requirements. Be flexible where you can.
What we did right - spent 14 out of a total of 22 months iterating between requirements, business processes and the marketplace
If you can bend your requirements, NDI is cheaper. Otherwise you’re better off with custom developed. (Not all projects may be flexible)
@USC CSSE

17. Lessons Learned Using NDI (2/6)
Importance of operational demos
Spend a lot of time in detailed performance demonstrations with real users.
Up-front time is critical. That’s when you have leverage with vendors. Once you buy their product, they are a lot less willing to help out.
Assessment of specific attributes
Projects (COCOTS), in the past have expressed regret that they did not spend more time assessing portability, inter-component compatibility, flexibility (of user interface), and installation ease.
@USC CSSE

18. Lessons Learned Using NDI (3/6)
Life-cycle issues
Supportability of NDI viewed as a major issue for safety-critical systems
Out of service is a critical problem
contractor purchased source code and will maintain NDI software
Projects, in past have expressed the view that NDI saved money during development but shifted costs to operational side of the life cycle
On-line software maintenance
How do you upgrade systems once they are in place and operating?
@USC CSSE

19. Lessons Learned Using NDI (4/6)
Life Cycle Issues (Upgrading)
What is an effective strategy for upgrading? Products reach end of life in two years.
Freeze and redo the system in 10 years?
Incorporate all versions from all vendors whenever they come out?
Refresh every 2 years?
Refresh a selected set of components every 2 years?
Should have an environment set up so you can load new versions onto the existing configuration and decide whether or not to upgrade.
Look at the entire life cycle realistically - not just development
@USC CSSE

20. Lessons Learned Using NDI (5/6)
NDI integrator experience
Important that they have experience integrating NDI.
Look carefully at their credentials. They will oversell themselves
Product maturity
Never use an untried OS
Maturity of the software was very important in NDI selection
If you have a safety-critical system, you don’t want state-of-the-art NDI
@USC CSSE

21. Lessons Learned Using NDI (6/6)
Training on NDI packages
Significant learning curve
Need for technology and market watch to keep up with vendors and technologies
Impacts of volatility during development
redo the tailoring with new releases
@USC CSSE

22. NDI Systems Definitions
NDI-Intensive Systems
Any system that uses NDI
NDI Based Applications
A system for which
At least 30% of the end-user functionality is provided by NDI products and
At least 10% of the project effort is devoted to NDI related activities
The numbers 10% and 30% are approximate behavioral NDI boundaries observed in the USC e-services projects
@USC CSSE

23. Types of NDI-based systems
System with
no NDI product
System with just a single NDI product
% of
Capability
Requirements
Implemented
by NDI products
100% 0%
30%
NDI
Based
Applications
@USC CSSE

24. NDI/NCS based development: Key Concepts
Process happens where the effort happens
Don’t start with requirements
Avoid premature commitments, but have and use a plan
Buy information early to reduce risk and rework
Prepare for NDI/NCS change
Use Bottom up rather than top down approach
@USC CSSE

25. Quality Management
©USC-CSSE

26. Objectives of QM To ensure the high quality process
in order to deliver high quality products
(c) USC-CSSE

27. Quality Management in 577ab
IIV&V
Configuration Management
Defect Reporting and Tracking
Testing
Buddy Review
Architecture Review Board
Core Capability Drive through
Design Code Review
Document template
Sample artifacts
(c) USC-CSSE

28. Quality Guidelines Design Guidelines Coding Guidelines
Describe design guidelines on how to improve or maintain modularity, reuse and maintenance
How the design will map to the implementation
Coding Guidelines
Describe how to document the code in such as way that it could easily be communicated to others
(c) USC-CSSE

29. Coding Guidelines C: http://www.gnu.org/prep/standards/standards.html
Java:
Visual Basic:
(c) USC-CSSE

30. Quality Guidelines Version Control and History
Chronological log of the changes introduced to this unit
Implementation Considerations
Detailed design and implementation for as-built considerations
Unit Verification
Unit / integration test
Code walkthrough / review / inspection
(c) USC-CSSE

31. Quality Assessment Methods
Methods, tools, techniques, processes that can identify the problems
Detect and report the problem
Measure the quality of the software system
Three methods of early defect identification
peer review, IIV&V, Automated Analysis
(c) USC-CSSE

32. Peer Review Reviews performed by peers in the development team
Can be from Fagan’s inspections to simple buddy checks
Peer Review Items
Participants / Roles
Schedule
(c) USC-CSSE

33. Defect Removal Profiles
(c) USC-CSSE