Assuring COTS products for reliability and safety critical systems

The increasing use of (commercial off the shelf) COTS components, including both hardware and software, in today's new systems is a reality. Cycle time reductions and development economies make this so. Since COTS products have been matured through field operations, they offer potential reliability advantages. Along with the COTS advantages there are some unknowns about COTS that pose a risk to the developer. This paper documents these reliability risks and exposures associated with COTS deployment. Most of the risk is in requirements' deficiencies, interface discrepancies, and intolerance to off-nominal input conditions. These risks aren't substantially different from those found in developmental products, but they may have greater effect.