Introduction to CBS Lessons Pages

Lesson Categories

	Architecture
	Business Processes
	Configuration Management
	Customer & End User Relationship Management
	DII COE
	Integration & Testing
	Modification
	Contracting
	Product Evaluation & Acquisition
	Product Evaluation & Selection
	Program Management
	Skills
	Requirements
	Systems and Software Engineering
	Technology Insertion
	Vendor Relationships

Architecture

Lesson A1: The use of COTS products has an impact on system architecture.

COTS products come with their own architectural concepts. These might not match the evolving concepts in your system architecture. The architecture and the products affect each other: the architecture may limit the products you can consider, and the products may dictate some aspects of your architecture.

Lesson A2: Document your CBS architecture well.

As with any architecture, it is essential to document your decisions and the architecture constructs that result. With a COTS-based system, you know that you will be revisiting the system and its architecture as the marketplace evolves. The easier it is to determine what decisions were made, why, and how product changes will affect the system, the easier it will be to keep evolving with the marketplace.