Reliable Tailored-COTS via Independent Verification and Validation
Abstract
An important class of Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) applications is the adaptation of an established COTS product to an operational environment for which it was not originally intended. This tailoring of the established product can provide the expected cost- reduction benefits associated with COTS and still meet system reliability requirements when augmented with an appropriate Independent Verification and Validation (IV&V) activity. We illustrate the tailored-COTS IV&V approach using the integration of a COTS Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver into the Space Shuttle onboard avionics system. The COTS UPS receiver chosen is a proven, reliable navigation aid that has been successfully integrated in numerous military aircraft, ranging from helicopters to jet fighters. However, integration of this COTS receiver into the Space Shuttle avionics system required many changes due to the different avionics hardware environment and the dramatically different flight environment. The key elements of the tailored-COTS IV&V approach are identification of unchanged but operationally affected code, development of automated code analysis tools, software scenario analysis, and exploitation of historical databases.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Dec 01, 2000
- Accession Number
- ADP010668
Entities
People
- James B. Dabney
- Michael A. Belms