Assessing Commercial Off-the-Shelf Software in Industry Using ATAM and RUP Analysis

This presentation was created for the SATURN conference series and does not necessarily reflect the positions and views of the Software Engineering Institute.

The use of commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) components enables more timely implementation of software projects in industry, but the time spent in evaluation of a single product, particularly when critical shortcomings are discovered late in the process, can often impact the business advantages of a faster time-to-market. Using the Architecture Tradeoff Analysis Method (ATAM) in conjunction with high-level analysis artifacts based on modified Rational Unified Processes (RUPs) to manage scope and risk, teams are able to quickly evaluate COTS-based architectural solutions prior to contract finalization. This paper will discuss the method, outcomes, and lessons learned in a series of inter related COTS-based implementations using the aforementioned methods in industry. Learner objectives focus on sensitivity of quality requirements, progressive states of use cases, and component-level use-case realizations.