| Systems constructed by integrating off-the-shelf products are difficult to construct, deploy, and evolve because of the large number of dependencies that exist between the products. Different organizations can use different products to provide similar services, leading to different constraints at each deployed site. This results in a large number of dependencies and constraints that must be satisfied in order for the system to function properly. These dependencies and constraints are not managed in a rigorous manner often resulting in having to rediscover the information each time the system is deployed. This thesis presents an approach to managing the dependencies and constraints in software systems constructed by integration off-the-shelf products. A formal specification for modeling the products and dependencies that exist in a system is developed, and it is used as the basis for describing a process for managing dependencies and constraints. The activities that are involved in this process include defining the dependence model of the system, specifying the constraints, and manually verifying that the constraints are satisfied within the deployed system. These activities are intended to be executed concurrently by different organizations and individuals that are involved with the system. To facilitate this concurrency and geographic distribution, a tool is developed that provides support for open collaboration amongst all actors involved in the dependency and constraint management process. |
