Component-Based Software Development Life Cycles

Components are no “Silver Bullets” that will solve the problem of making software correct and robust. In order to make components more stable and correct the software industry needs to adapt a maturer life cycle model for developing, administrating and maintaining components. In this paper we propose a draft for how that could be achieved. Much can be learned from the life cycle model for application packages. The life cycle for a software system containing components must take into account that the system itself has a life cycle, as well as the component and all the other software in the system. Therefore we propose a merge of these life cycles in order to keep a system functioning and justifiable. Proposed in this paper is an outline for how the life cycle could be designed.