The Columbus SDE-an overview

This paper gives an overview of the Columbus software development environment (CSDE). CSDE is built for use in software development within the Columbus manned space program sponsored by the European Space Agency (ESA). CSDE is offered to the Columbus consortium as the main cornerstone in the software process. It supports a classic waterfall model as defined by ESA standard PSS-05. The main emphasis is placed on utilization of commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) tools integrated in an objected oriented environment facilitating a `plug-in/plug-out´ paradigm. The paper addresses details of the kind of large scale projects that will be supported, the design and integration platform chosen, implementation of the integration strategy, as well as the importance of an object oriented approach. Furthermore, the importance of procurement, deployment, and support strategy is discussed