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.