COTS-Based Systems*

1. SAM Executive Seminar COTS-Based Systems* George Prosnik DAU CDSC E&T Center * Derived from the SEI’s CBS for Executives materials as modified for Defense Systems Management College (DSMC) Instruction

2. legacy systems COTS: Attraction and Motivation demands for more functionality • develop faster • adopt best commercial practices • leverage commercial investment • leverage new technology • reduce costs COTS! ACQUISITIONREFORM MORE cheaper $ $ $ BUDGET better faster policy

3. What is COTS? A COTS product is a product • sold, leased, or licensed to the general public • offered by a vendor trying to profit from it • supported and evolved by the vendor, who retains the intellectual property rights • available in multiple, identical copies • used without modification of the internals

4. COTS Vendors ??? COTS Products COTS-Based System What Makes CBS Challenging? • Built-in assumptions of end-user processes that may not match yours • Licensing, data rights, warranties • Frequent, continuous change of COTS products and marketplace • COTS products driven by marketplace, not your system context

5. COTS Vendors ??? COTS Products COTS-Based System What Makes CBS Challenging? (continued) • Varying architectural paradigms across system components • Dependencies among system components • Limited control of frequency or content of COTS releases • Limited visibility into COTS product internals and behavior

6. Required COTS Approach System Context System Context Simultaneous Definition and Tradeoffs Architecture & Design Marketplace Architecture & Design Implementation CBS Fundamental Process Changes Traditional Development Approach This change applies to business and contractualactivities, as well as the engineering ones.

7. ? Keys to CBS Success • Make COTS-Based System Tradeoffs • Think More Like a Business • Establish Evolution as a Way of Life • Change the Culture

8. Keys to CBS Success • Make COTS-Based System Tradeoffs • Reconcile Products and User Operations • Leverage the Marketplace • Engineer an Evolvable Architecture • Make Tradeoffs Simultaneously • Avoid COTS Modification • Think More Like a Business • Establish Evolution as a Way of Life • Change the Culture

9. Executive support: facilitate negotiation to reconcile mismatch between products and end-user processes Program Manager actions: identify end-user processes and product mismatches early involve end-users and other stakeholders early negotiate system context and product tradeoffs use domain experts and consultants from the COTS products’ suppliers use prototypes and pilots to gain product insight User Operations/Product Mismatch Actions

10. Program Manager actions: participate in user and industry groups maintain government and contractor marketplace knowledge keep current with the marketplace evaluate products and suppliers use testbeds/prototypes throughout the life cycle allocate sufficient resources for marketplace activities Executive support: establish an information sharing structure marketplace watch groups organization-wide testbeds example evaluation criteria and plans technology refresh guidelines Marketplace Actions

11. Operational Technical Processing and Information Exchange Requirements • ––– Identifies Warfighter Identifies Rules, Standards • ––– New Technology Information Needs and Conventions Capabilities • ––– • ––– Processing and Time-phased Information Technical Exchange Guidance Requirements Technology Insertion Feedback Systems • ––– • ––– Overlays Capabilities on Requirements • ––– • ––– An Example of an Architecture Framework Information Technology Architecture: An integrated framework for evolving or maintaining existing information technology and acquiring new information technology to achieve the agency’s strategic goals and information resources management goals 4.8

12. The Universe of Software & System Architectures M I S S I O N S P E C I I C A P P I C A I O N S F L T S r t A l i t i u p p o p p c a o n s A P P I C A I O N P R O G R A M I N E R A C E L T T F U s e r D a t a P r o g r a m r r G a p h i c s N e t w o k I n t e r f a c e M a n a g e m e n t S e r v i c e s S r S r e v i c e s e v i c e s S e r v i c e s S e r v i c e s P r e s e n t a t i o n M a n a g e m e n t D a t a r D i c t i o n a y / s - D i s p l a y C o m mo e r r D i e c t o y T o o l k i t g a - A r t t i b u t e u a g D t a n D a t a S t r e a m a L I n e c h a n g e t r r OpenSystems: are those that enable properly engineered applications to be ported across many systems, to be able to interoperatewith other applications on local and remote systems, and to interact with users in a style that facilitates user portability.” IEEE POSIX Standard 1003.0 Q u e y - I n t e r f a c e D i s t r i b u t e d S e r i c s v e D a t a b a s e - E n c o d i n g C o m p u t i n g t E n S e D o c u m e n t P r o d u c t A m m R e o t e C n A s p p l i c a t i o n l o o D a t a r A c c e s s i o v T D i a l o g n d E r G a p h i c n a S r S r S r e c u i t y D a t a e c u i t y e c u i t y S r S r e c u i t y e c u i t y O p e a t i n g t e e i e r S y s m S r v c s K e r n a l O p e r a t i o n s / C o m m a n d s a n d U t i l i t i e s / S y s t e m A d m i n i s t r a t i o n / S e c u r i t y H A R D A R E / S O A R E / E X E R N A E N V I R O N M E N W F T W T L T Open Architectures Standards-Based Architectures Rev 7.1

13. Part of the COTS paradigm is all about giving up control Avoid COTS Modification • Temptations for COTS product changes: • inability to change end-user processes • tailoring required for any use • work required to integrate • Modification choices: • non-surgical tailoring • surgical modification • Or…don’t use COTS: do custom development.

14. Executive support: demand extensive justification of (proposed) COTS surgical modifications Actions to Avoid Modifications • Program Manager actions: • weigh modification choices carefully • acknowledge and accommodate the consequences of COTS product modification • get vendor commitment to incorporate modifications into the next version of the commercial product • pay attention to the economics of tailoring

15. ? Keys to CBS Success • Make COTS-Based System Tradeoffs • Think More Like a Business • Live by the COTS Business Case • Negotiate Licenses & Supplier Relationships • Realign Budgets for COTS Realities • Establish Evolution as a Way of Life • Change the Culture

16. Executive support: watch for enterprise license opportunities ? Licenses and Supplier Relationship Actions • Program Manager actions: • develop strategies to create and manage vendor and supplier relationships • negotiate licenses • look for volume discounts • obtain licenses that transfer to the government/maintainers • create government partnerships with critical second-tier vendors

17. ? Realign Budgets for COTS Realities • Accommodate marketplace volatilities • product upgrades, cascading upgrades, end of technology life • product feature reduction or bloat, vendor demise, changes to license arrangements • Accommodate COTS infrastructure • technology and market watch • testbeds • culture change and training • information collection and dissemination • guidance, examples, handbooks • incentives

18. Executive support: budget for the organization’s COTS cultural changes budget for the organization’s COTS infrastructure Program Manager actions: budget for COTS cultural changes(government/contractor) budget for new or increased costs technology forecasting continuous market research continuous evaluation reacting to new product releases reacting to marketplace changes engineering an evolvable architecture (re)integration licensing, warranties, data rights estimate life-cycle costs realistically ? COTS Budget Realignment Actions

19. Keys to CBS Success • Make COTS-Based System Tradeoffs • Think More Like a Business • Establish Evolution as a Way of Life • Evolve COTS-Based Systems Continuously • Take the Long View on System Acquisition • Change the Culture

20. Marketplace Dynamics Sustain Construct Construct Sustain Construct Sustain Construct Construct Sustain Sustain Time CBS Construction & Sustainment Merge

21. Program Manager actions: use early system prototyping to validate product or technology feasibility use prototypes and testbeds repeatedly in response to marketplace events balance system instability with marketplace obsolescence synchronize marketplace changes with system releases budget sufficient resources for evolutionary activities Executive support: allocate resources for COTS migration and transition services require collection of cost/resource data associated with migration and evolution establish product characterization guidelines establish evolution guidelines Evolution Actions

22. Take a Long View on System Acquisition • COTS-based systems: a long-term commitment • both strategic and technological • benefit may only be realized in the mid/long term • Strive for • long-term viability of acquisition strategy • stability of funding • flexibility of contract vehicles • long-term relationships in the marketplace/contractor community • Short-term tactics can scuttle long-term strategy.

23. Keys to CBS Success • Make COTS-Based System Tradeoffs • Think More Like a Business • Establish Evolution as a Way of Life • Change the Culture

24. Change the Culture • Who changes? - everyone • government (e.g., executives, program offices, procurement staff) • contractors • end users and other key stakeholders • What changes? • how you think about your business activities • how you execute your business activities • how your reward structure operates • how your organization is structured and operates

25. Executive support: demand creation and delivery of COTS-based systems training from defense-related sources ensure all personnel are trained facilitate and incentivize the government and contractor cultural shift Program Manager actions: educate and train personnel in new skills for COTS-based systems involve qualified government personnel to evaluate contractor COTS decisions and recommendations capture, share, and apply COTS-based system lessons learned and metrics Cultural Change Actions

26. Elephant Bungee Wisdom • Universal Truth #9:COTS are not necessarily the best solution. They bring risks + benefits…understand both! • Management Emphasis • Investigate the pricing structure • Select established products with large installed bases • Budget for the complete cost of COTS integration and maintenance • “Fly before you buy” + TEST a lot • Adapt your requirements to COTS Elephant Bungee Jumping #9: Avoiding Diseases that Are Fun to Catch