Timing the Testing of COTS Software Products*

The use of Commercial-Off-The-Shelf (COTS) software products in the construction of distributed large-scale systems implies the need for a new approach to systems testing. The evaluation process for COTS candidate selection begins at the same time as the establishments of initial requirements. This position paper presents arguments for the establishment of a testing protocol in the early stages of evaluation and for the implementation of effective testing techniques that are appropriate to a COTS-based system. Test planning and implementation must account for the use of results obtained during the evaluation process.