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Published Articles >> Table of Contents >> Abstract
10th IEEE International Symposium on Software Metrics (METRICS'04)
pp. 72-83
An Empirical Study of Variations in COTS-based Software Development Processes in Norwegian IT Industry
Jingyue Li, Norwegian Univ. of Science and Technology, Norway
Finn Olav Bjørnson, Norwegian Univ. of Science and Technology, Norway
Reidar Conradi, Norwegian Univ. of Science and Technology, Norway; Simula Research Laboratory, Norway
Vigdis By Kampenes, Simula Research Laboratory, Norway
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DOI Bookmark: http://doi.ieeecomputersociety.org/10.1109/METRIC.2004.1357892
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| Abstract |
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More and more software projects use Commercial-Off-The-Shelf (COTS) components.
Although previous studies have proposed specific COTS-based development
processes, there are few empirical studies to investigate
how to use and customize them to different project
contexts. This paper describes an exploratory study of
state-of-the-practice of COTS-based development
processes. 16 software projects in Norwegian IT
companies have been studied by structured interviews.
The results are that COTS-specific activities can be
successfully incorporated in most traditional development
processes (such as waterfall or prototyping), given
proper guidelines to reduce risks and provide specific
assistance. We have identified four COTS-specific
activities - the build vs. buy decision, COTS component
selection, learning and understanding COTS components,
and COTS component integration - and one new role,
that of a knowledge keeper. We have also found a special
COTS component selection activity for unfamiliar
components, combining Internet searches with hands-on
trials. The process guidelines are expressed as scenarios
and lessons learned, and can be used to customize the
actual development processes, e.g. in which lifecycle
phase to put the new activities. Such customization
crucially depends on project context, such as previous
familiarity with possible COTS components and flexibility
of requirements.
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 Additional Information
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Citation:
Jingyue Li, Finn Olav Bjørnson, Reidar Conradi, Vigdis By Kampenes,
"An Empirical Study of Variations in COTS-based Software Development Processes in Norwegian IT Industry,"
metrics,
pp. 72-83,
10th IEEE International Symposium on Software Metrics (METRICS'04),
2004
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