Juan Pablo Carvallo

DesCOTS: a software system for selecting COTS components

Selection of commercial-off-the-shelf software components (COTS components) has a growing importance in software engineering. Unfortunately, selection projects have a high risk of ending up into abandonment or yielding an incorrect selection. The use of some software engineering practices such as the definition of quality models can reduce this risk. We defined a process for COTS components selection based on the use of quality models and we started to apply it in academic and industrial cases. The need of having a tool to support this process arose and, although some tools already exist to partially support the involved activities, none of them was suitable enough. Because of this we developed DesCOTS, a software system that embraces several tools that interact to support the different activities of our process. The system has been designed taking into account not only functional concerns but also nonfunctional aspects such as reusability, interoperability and portability. We present in this paper the different subsystems of DesCOTS and discuss about their applicability.

A quality-model-based approach for describing and evaluating software packages

Selection of software packages from user requirements is a central task in software engineering. Selection of inappropriate packages may compromise business processes and may interfere negatively in the functioning of the involved organization. Success of package selection is endangered because of many factors, one of the most important being the absence of structured descriptions of both package features and user quality requirements. In this paper, we propose a methodology for describing quality factors of software packages using the ISO/IEC quality standard as a framework. Following this standard, relevant attributes for a specific software domain are identified and structured as a hierarchy, and metrics for them are chosen. Software packages in this domain can then be described in a uniform and comprehensive way. Therefore, selection of packages can be ameliorated by transforming user quality requirements into requirements expressed in terms of quality model attributes. We illustrate the approach by presenting, in some depth, a quality model for the mail server domain.

Extending the ISO/IEC 9126-1 quality model with non-technical factors for COTS components selection

The selection of Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) components is currently a central activity in the development of information systems. Criteria for selecting COTS components include both technical and non-technical issues. Whilst many catalogues of technical quality factors exist, it is not the case for non-technical ones. In this paper, we propose an extension of the ISO/IEC 9126-1 catalogue with non-technical factors. The extension is designed to be integrated smoothly in the departing catalogue, therefore we keep the hierarchy-oriented structure and we distinguish the three abstraction levels of the ISO/IEC standard. We provide some evidence of the adequacy of the catalogue by reporting on its use in some recent COTS selection experiences carried out in the context of the ETAPATELECOM company (Ecuador).

Characterization of a Taxonomy for Business Applications and the Relationships Among Them

In this paper we propose a taxonomy for classifying COTS business applications, i.e. products that are used in the daily functioning of all types of organizations worldwide, such as ERP systems and document management tools. We propose the identification of characterization attributes to arrange the domains which these products belong to, and also we group these domains into categories. We define questions and answers as a means for browsing the taxonomy during COTS selection. We show the need of identifying and recording the relationships among the domains and propose the use of actor-oriented models for expressing these relationships as dependencies. Last, we explore the definition of quality models for the domains, to be used in COTS selection, focusing on their reusability and stepwise definition downwards the hierarchy.

Managing Non-Technical Requirements in COTS Components Selection

The selection of COTS components is made not only by an analysis of their technical quality but also (and sometimes mostly) by considering how they fulfill those non-technical requirements considered relevant, which refer to licensing, reputation, and similar issues. In this paper we present an approach for managing nontechnical requirements during COTS selection. The proposal is based on extending the ISO/IEC 9126-1 catalogue of quality factors by adding factors related to non-technical issues, obtaining a cohesive and comprehensive framework for managing requirements during selection

COSTUME: a method for building quality models for composite COTS-based software systems

The use of quality models during the selection of commercial, off-the-shelf (COTS) products provides a framework for the description of the domains which the COTS products belong to. Descriptions of COTS products and user quality requirements may be translated into the quality concepts defined in the model, making selection more efficient and reliable. We propose a method for the construction of quality models for composite COTS-based software systems (CCSS), defined as systems that are composed by several interconnected COTS products. Selection processes carried out when procuring a CCSS require not a single COTS product to be selected but a set of them. As a consequence, instead of a classical quality model, we need a more elaborated one, defined as the composition of those models that belong to the domains of the COTS products that form the CCSS.

Towards a Quality Model for the Selection of ERP Systems

ERP systems are a category of COTS products that offers extensive support to the management of business processes in most kind of companies and organizations. Due to their increasing adoption and the risks coming from their incorrect selection, efforts towards effective and reliable selection methods should have a positive impact in the community. This chapter proposes the adoption of quality models as a means for structuring the description of the capabilities of such type of products. The ISO/IEC 9126-1 quality standard is chosen as a framework, and a methodology for tailoring it to this specific domain is followed. The chapter also shows the formalization of the quality model by using a formal language. Last, the use of the quality model for processing quality requirements is also addressed.

Defining a Quality Model for Mail Servers

One of the factors that influence the success of COTS product procurement processes is a deep knowledge of the COTS market. The existence of exhaustive and structured descriptions of COTS products belonging to concrete COTS domains may be used as a framework in which particular COTS products could be evaluated and compared to user requirements during the procurement process. Because of its specific characteristics, the domain of mail-related COTS products may benefit from these kind of descriptions. This paper presents an ISO/IEC-based quality model for the mail servers COTS domain, which is built by applying a precise methodology. A general overview of this methodology is presented and its application to the domain is detailed. The use of the mail server quality model is illustrated in some procurement contexts.

On the use of i* for architecting hybrid systems: a method and an evaluation report

The architectural definition of hybrid software systems is a challenging problem that demands to reconcile stakeholders’ strategic needs and components marketplace, whilst defining an appropriate set of services. We have defined a method called DHARMA based on the i* framework. The goal of this paper is to present an experience report about the use of i* in large-scale projects. We provide two different viewpoints: the viewpoint of the stakeholder and the viewpoint of the modeller. Apart from general lessons learned, we also provide some insights about the use of i* in the specific context of architecting hybrid systems using DHARMA.

QM: a tool for building software quality models

We present the QM tool used to support our IQMC method for the construction of quality models for COTS domains. This tool also supports the organization of quality models in a taxonomy of COTS domains for supporting the reuse of these models.