Issues for assessing component-based systems

The use of component-based software has become more and more important in state-of-the-art and state-of-the-practice of software and system development. Using COTS software promises faster time-to-market, which can yield substantial advantages over competitors with regards to earlier placement of a new product on a market. At the same time, component-based software introduces risks such as unknown quality properties of the components in use that can inject harmful side effects into the final product. This paper proposes a multidimensional classification scheme for assessing component-based systems. The classification scheme provides insight into what quality characteristics, managerial features, or assessment methods and techniques might be used for evaluating different component artefacts.Eje: Ingeniería de softwareRed de Universidades con Carreras en Informática (RedUNCI

Issues for assessing component-based systems

The use of component-based software has become more and more important in state-of-the-art and state-of-the-practice of software and system development. Using COTS software promises faster time-to-market, which can yield substantial advantages over competitors with regards to earlier placement of a new product on a market. At the same time, component-based software introduces risks such as unknown quality properties of the components in use that can inject harmful side effects into the final product. This paper proposes a multidimensional classification scheme for assessing component-based systems. The classification scheme provides insight into what quality characteristics, managerial features, or assessment methods and techniques might be used for evaluating different component artefacts.Eje: Ingeniería de softwareRed de Universidades con Carreras en Informática (RedUNCI

Stability for component integration assessment

Component-Based Software Development is focused on assembling previously existing components (COTS and other non-developmental items) into larger systems, and migrating existing systems toward component approaches. Ideally, most of the application developer’s time is spent integrating components. We present an approach that can be used in the process of establishing component integration’s quality as an important field to resolving CBS quality problems – problems ranging from CBS quality definition, measurement, analysis, and improvement to tools, methods and processes. In this paper, we introduce an important property we called system’s stability as part of a cycle for assessing and improving component-based systems. This property is the basis for determining the impact of incorporating COTS components into a stable system.Eje: Ingeniería de SoftwareRed de Universidades con Carreras en Informática (RedUNCI

Through life costing in defence electronic systems: an integrated data-driven multi-level approach

Cost estimating is a business process that is critical to the defence sector, where many products have low volumes and long life cycles. The nature of a defence system is often unique (for example, a naval platform) which consists of a number of sub-systems and components. For the design of such a system cost estimating is a critical task, in particular the requirement to predict the cost throughout the systems lifetime. The aim of this paper therefore is to discuss an integrated approach that provides a general framework for through life costing in defence systems via the development of: (1) a generic data library to support designers and cost estimators, (2) data searching and transfer mechanisms to support a top-down and bottom-up hybrid cost modelling approach, (3) capturing reliability data to support product services. The paper is divided into several sections, first, a review of relevant research projects concerning integration and data capture for cost modelling. This is followed by a section, which highlights problems of performing cost estimates for low volume products, and subsequently the proposed solution, methods of cost estimation and example applications. Perhaps most importantly, the methods created in this research are able to enhance decision-making and accelerate the responsiveness of the business bidding process

Data-driven through-life costing to support product lifecycle management solutions in innovative product development

Innovative product usually refers to product that comprises of creativity and new ideas. In the development of such a new product, there is often a lack of historical knowledge and data available to be used to perform cost estimation accurately. This is due to the fact that traditional cost estimation methods are used to predict costs only after a product model has been built, and not at an early design stage when there is little data and information available. In light of this, original equipment manufacturers are also facing critical challenges of becoming globally competitive and increasing demands from customer for continuous innovation. To alleviate these situations this research has identified a new approach to cost modelling with the inclusion of product lifecycle management solutions to address innovative product development.The aim of this paper, therefore, is to discuss methods of developing an extended-enterprise data-driven through-life cost estimating method for innovative product development

Generalization of an integrated cost model and extensions to COTS, PLE and TTM

There have been existing software reuse cost models related to estimating costs of software reuse, for example, COCOMO II, COCOTS, and so on. Chmiel\u27s model [Chmiel 2000] is a generalization of these cost models. This model is different from others in that the decisions are composed of four levels and treats reuse projects from a point of view of long term run. Each level corresponds one engineering cycle. Each level is a decision making process based on calculation of NPV, ROI, and other economic indices. Reuse investment decisions are made on different levels from the corporate to the programming.;Chmiel\u27s model doesn\u27t cover Commercial-Off-The-Shelf (COTS), Product Line Engineering (PLE) and benefits due to shortened Time-To-Market (TTM) and can only deal with internal traffic since the model assumes all of the reusable components are built from scratch in house. For example, Extra efforts caused by the use of COTS, assessment, tailoring, glue code and COTS volatility, are not covered in this model. And this model doesn\u27t treat the benefits of TTM, for example, business performance.;By extending Chmiel\u27s model, the new model is applied to CBSE (Component-Based Software Engineering), COTS reuse systems and PLE. In addition, attempts of quantifying benefits of shortened TTM are made within this study and a TTM submodel is developed to cover this issue.;This study also addresses the issue to analyze and optimize corporate Return On Investment (ROI). The rational is that optimizing (maximizing) the corporate ROI under the condition that all other ROI\u27s are positive. By designing an algorithm and applying it to the data, this study discovers the method how to make the maximized value of corporate ROI.;And this model is supported through a tool based on the model rationale. Users to this tool are corporate management and development engineers. The supporting tool has user-friendly interface and allows users to input values of related parameters. A detailed report is produced, which is composed of details about costs and benefits, final Net Present Value (NPV) and ROI of each cycle

Search based software engineering: Trends, techniques and applications

© ACM, 2012. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of ACM for your personal use. Not for redistribution. The definitive version is available from the link below.In the past five years there has been a dramatic increase in work on Search-Based Software Engineering (SBSE), an approach to Software Engineering (SE) in which Search-Based Optimization (SBO) algorithms are used to address problems in SE. SBSE has been applied to problems throughout the SE lifecycle, from requirements and project planning to maintenance and reengineering. The approach is attractive because it offers a suite of adaptive automated and semiautomated solutions in situations typified by large complex problem spaces with multiple competing and conflicting objectives. This article provides a review and classification of literature on SBSE. The work identifies research trends and relationships between the techniques applied and the applications to which they have been applied and highlights gaps in the literature and avenues for further research.EPSRC and E