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Determining the Suitability of COTS in Mission Critical Systems

Determining the Suitability of COTS in Mission Critical Systems. VT/NVC Feb. 15, 2002 Ronald J. Kohl Chief Systems Engineer Titan Systems Co. Rjkohl@prodigy.net. Definitions Why use COTS Risks with Using COTS What’s all the fuss with Mission Critical? Mitigation approaches Summary.

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Determining the Suitability of COTS in Mission Critical Systems

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  1. Determining the Suitability of COTS in Mission Critical Systems VT/NVC Feb. 15, 2002 Ronald J. Kohl Chief Systems Engineer Titan Systems Co. Rjkohl@prodigy.net

  2. Definitions Why use COTS Risks with Using COTS What’s all the fuss with Mission Critical? Mitigation approaches Summary Contents

  3. Commercial Off The Shelf (COTS) Commercially available product acquired in ‘as is’ condition, perhaps with ‘tailoring’ capabilities Other Non-Developed Item (NDI) types MOTS (Modified Off The Shelf) GOTS (Government Off The Shelf) Reuse products shareware Open Source Custom Home grown or home maintained, control of source code and development team Definitions

  4. Everyone has a definition They’re all different, but similar Ron’s Defn: Those parts of an enterprise or system which are essential to the success of that enterprise or system Could be Hardware, Software, Procedures or People!!! What is ‘Mission Critical’?

  5. Non-critical meet functional rqmts meet performance rqmts, often be available, often work correctly most of the time maintainable ease of recovery Mission Critical meet all rqmts and nothing more do so, all the time be available, all the time work correctly, always quality of maintenance rigorous recovery requirements So what’s different about Mission Critical Systems?

  6. Reduced development cost/schedule Reduced maintenance cost Product ‘improvements’ at no cost “Proven” product Wide user base to identify problems Wide user base to build shelf life Available skill base Industry investment in technology base Potential Benefits of Using COTS

  7. Product Volatility product features change when and to what the Vendor chooses No/little insight into product * Unknown product flaws Limited, poor, or no documentation No source code Unknown development processes or skills May not meet program requirements * Product features not as advertised (more or fewer) Product not suited for intended operational use Difficult to find human-life rated products Product lifetime may be less than program life COTS Risks

  8. Underestimated total program costs Integration costs, Verification costs and O&M costs Risk to maintenance Unpredictable vendor support and vendor stability Dependency on vendor to identify flaws that are applicable to program Vendor resistant to accepting/fixing externally identified flaws (requires “proof”) High probability of mods or ‘wrappers’ * Interfaces/protocol not standard with industry Unique operational environment Stringent program requirements/needs COTS Risks (con’t)

  9. Gain Marketplace and vendor knowledge shop early & often Gain product knowledge prior to baselining requirements - Learn all you can, as early as you can, however you can COTS standards for program Use of redundant vendors Early vendor involvement throughout the life cycle Product and/or Vendor certification * Mitigation Techniques

  10. Robust verification plan and environment * Early prototyping, allowing time for design/requirements changes Overall robust system that can withstand the unexpected Source code escrow * Up front systems engineering evaluations Product ‘insight’ requirements * Product simulators/models * Mitigation Techniques(con’t)

  11. Maturity of COTS marketplace in the domain Stable/quality vendors in this marketplace Quality products in this marketplace Similar usage of this COTS in related applications Certifiable for Critical Applications Insights into development products and processes Fidelity of product simulations/models Product Change/Maintenance Plans Quality of and alternatives for product support Summary:COTS Evaluation Guidelines

  12. Prioritize requirements Recognize the basement requirements from the roof requirements Recognize system elements that may be ‘volatile’, make final decisions as late as possible Establish acceptance criteria, early! Employ effective analytical methods Some additional heuristics

  13. Complete description of the COTS-based systems development and operational life-cycle model Effective cost estimation algorithms More objective eval/selection criteria and methods Verification/validation methods Some ‘open problems’

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