Component-based systems development: challenges and lessons learned

The continuing increase of interest in component based software engineering (CBSE) signifies the emergence of a new development trend within the software industry. Unlike preceding software engineering models, CBSE heavily relies on the utilization of commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) products as the underlying foundation for new product development. Its emphasis is on the identification, selection, evaluation, procurement, integration, and evaluation of reusable software components to provide complex integrated solutions at shorter development time and minimum cost. Compared to traditional development-centric software engineering approaches, CBSE promises a more efficient approach to the delivery of software solutions to the market. However, underestimating the technical risks associated with the selection, evaluation, and integration of these software components has often resulted in longer schedule delay, and higher development/maintenance cost, often experienced in integrated system development projects. The paper describes an experience at the Mitsubishi Consumer Electronics Engineering Center (CEEC) in implementing embedded Internet/Television systems using CBSE. It also describes the procurement-centric model used to support project planning and to guide the development process. The COTS based Integrated System Development (CISD) model identifies key engineering phases and their subphases that are often ignored, or merely implicit, in existing development-centric models. From the initial results of this project, the paper presents the various lessons learned at the CEEC in CBSE.