Abstract:

Although the idea of component-based development (CBD) is not new, it really gained momentum just several years ago. The increasing complexity of current software systems and the need to be able to adapt to changes in the business environment quickly are only two of reasons for the emergence of this approach. A comprehensive list of expected benefits is associated with the adoption of CBD, headed by a reduced time-to-market and decreased development costs, but many of them have not yet been achieved. Many challenges arise with the adoption of CBD that have to be overcome in order to be able to take advantage of the benefits. CBD is significantly different from traditional approaches and therefore new skills are needed and in order to reap the benefits many organisations find that they must change the ways they develop software.