Risk-Based COTS Systems Engineering Assessment Model: A Systems Engineering Management Tool and Assessment Methodology to Cope with the Risk of Commercial Off-the-Shelf (COTS) Technology Insertion During the System Life Cycle.

摘要

Due to the rising costs of today's weapon systems, the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) continues to implement strategies to reform its acquisition and procurement process. One such strategy seeks to reduce the cost of developing systems by purchasing commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) technology. The COTS technology ranges from components used to build a particular weapon system to functional pieces of gear used to support the weapon system, i.e. support equipment. The COTS technology may be instituted at the inception of the weapon system design or it may be inserted into the support of the weapon system at any point during its life cycle. The COTS technology is intended to reduce weapon system life-cycle costs by minimizing the expense of system design and testing.