Outsourcing the Development of Specific Application Software using
the ESA Software Engineering Standards:
The SPS Software Interlock System
B. Denis
CERN
CERN is considering outsourcing as a solution to the reduction of staff. The
need to re-engineer the SPS Software Interlock System provided an opportunity
to explore the applicability of outsourcing to our specific controls
environment and the ESA PSS-
05
standards were selected for the requirements specification, the development,
the control and monitoring and the project management. The software produced by
the contractor is now fully operational.
After outlining the scope and the complexity of the project, a discussion on
the ESA PSS-
05
will be presented: the choice, the way these standards improve the outsourcing
process, the quality induced but also the need to adapt them and their
limitation in the definition of the customer-
supplier
relationship. The success factors and the difficulties of development under
contract will also be discussed. The maintenance aspect and the impact on in-
house
developments will finally be addressed.