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276 Chapter 10 Sociotechnical systems

Off-the-Shelf
System Available Adapt Assess Existing Choose System
Requirements Systems Supplier

Define Business Survey Market for Negotiate
Requirements Existing Systems Contract

Define Issue Request Select
Custom System Requirements to Tender Tender
Required

business processes may be advisable. For military systems, the need to improve
Figure 10.6 System
procurement processes capability in the face of new threats is an important reason for procuring new
systems.
4. Business reorganization Businesses and other organizations frequently restruc-
ture with the intention of improving efficiency and/or customer service.
Reorganizations lead to changes in business processes that require new systems
support.
5. Available budget The budget available is an obvious factor in determining the
scope of new systems that can be procured.

In addition, new government systems are often procured to reflect political
changes and political policies. For example, politicians may decide to buy new sur-
veillance systems, which they claim will counter terrorism. Buying such systems
shows voters that they are taking action. However, such systems are often procured
without a cost-benefit analysis, where the benefits that result from different spending
options are compared.
Large, complex systems usually consist of a mixture of off-the-shelf and specially
built components. One reason why more and more software is included in systems is
that it allows more use of existing hardware components, with the software acting as
‘glue’ to make these hardware components work together effectively. The need to
develop this ‘glueware’ is one reason why the savings from using off-the-shelf com-
ponents are sometimes not as great as anticipated.
Figure 10.6 shows a simplified model of the procurement process for both COTS
system components and system components that have to be specially designed and
developed. Important points about the process shown in this diagram are:

1. Off-the-shelf components do not usually match requirements exactly, unless the
requirements have been written with these components in mind. Therefore,
choosing a system means that you have to find the closest match between the
system requirements and the facilities offered by off-the-shelf systems. You
may then have to modify the requirements. This can have knock-on effects on
other subsystems.