%0 Journal Article %J Software, IEEE %D 2003 %T Eight lessons learned during COTS-based systems maintenance %A Reifer,D.J. %A Basili, Victor R. %A Boehm,B.W. %A Clark,B. %K COTS %K COTS-based %K cycle %K life %K lifecycle %K Maintenance %K maintenance; %K object-oriented %K packages; %K phase; %K processes; %K programming; %K reusability; %K software %K systems %X To make better decisions relative to CBSs, we need empirical knowledge. To gain this knowledge, we must more fully understand the lifecycle processes people use when harnessing COTS packages. The initial findings reported here are but the first step in our attempts to capture this empirical knowledge. We plan to continue collecting data and investigating the phenomenology of COTS-based systems. %B Software, IEEE %V 20 %P 94 - 96 %8 2003/10//sept %@ 0740-7459 %G eng %N 5 %R 10.1109/MS.2003.1231161