We expand on this work by elaborating the sequence in which COTS assessment (A), tailoring (T), glue-code (G), and custom development (C) activities are performed. These sequences provide a “genetic code” for a CBA development project and are useful in characterizing the uniqueness of a CBA development lifecycle and enabling tactical decision support such as identifying high-risk development patterns, effort and schedule planning, options valuation. Other applications include analyzing the effects of risks on COTS activity and validating the composable COTS decision framework motioned above.

We present CBA activity effort sequences from 9 USC e-service projects and their relationship to reported project risks. In addition, we present an initial set of “anticipated” and “un-anticipated” CBA effort sequence patterns. Anticipated sequences are patterns that have been observed within our case studies and are rationalized with respect to COTS risk-reduction on a project. One would expect to see such patterns on a well-managed, successful CBA development project. Unanticipated sequences are patterns that have not been observed, or when they have been observed, have correlated strongly with high risk and perhaps project failure.