Requirements Engineering for COTS Selection

Carina Frota Alves1, Fernanda M. R. de Alencar2, Jaelson F. B. Castro1ª

1Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Centro de Informática,

Av. Prof. Luiz Freire, s/n – Cidade Universitária

CEP 50732-970 Recife, Pernambuco

E-mail: {cfa, jbc}@di.ufpe.br

2 UFPE - Universidade Federal de Pernambuco

CT - Departamento de Eletrônica e Sistemas

Rua Acadêmico Hélio Ramos, s/n - Cidade Universitária

Recife - PE - CEP: 50.740-530

E-mail: fmra@npd.ufpe.br

Abstract

There is growing interest in the notion of software development through the planned integration of COTS (Commercial Off-The-Shelf) products. The potential advantages of this integration-centric approach are shorter development time and reduced cost. Often a COTS based development process consists of an evaluation, selection, adaptation, integration, and evolution of components obtained from external vendors. However, most methods focus on system adaptation and integration but neglect the processes of evaluation and selection of COTS. This paper introduces a COTS-Based Requirements Engineering Model that focuses on non-functional requirements to assist the processes of evaluation and selection of COTS products.

Key Words: COTS development process, non-functional requirements, product evaluation and selection.