Overlooked aspects of COTS-based development

Although developing with commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) components is gaining more attention from both research and industrial communities, most literature on the topic doesn\´t clearly identify context variables such as the type of products, projects, and systems. In particular, the literature often lacks a definition of "COTS product," or, when a definition is present, it invariably disagrees with other studies. A shared definition would improve discourse and enable researchers to meta-analyze published empirical data. After a speculative effort to define and classify COTS products, we decided to obtain this much-needed understanding from the bottom up. We asked people involved in industrial projects to name the key features in COTS-based development and to tell us what they think constitutes a COTS product. We present the interview results in the form of six theses, which contradict widely accepted (or simply undisputed) ideas. We also present a definition of "COTS product" that captures the key features.