Developing Interim Systems

One of the recent challenges in the aerospace industry has been to smoothly transition operations-oriented computer systems to meet increasing demands on smaller budgets. Sometimes the best solution is not affordable, but the current situation is equally untenable. Change becomes necessary, but is only acceptable at minimal operational impact and financial costs.

Frequently, interim software solutions must be developed while new hardware is under design or production. These interim systems are characterized by an immediate need with a limited budget. This paper discusses several factors involved with producing a working software set in minimal time, such as the initial approach, budgetary concerns, and resource-scavenging. By recognizing the importance of these factors, interim system developers will be able to produce working systems with a minimum of setbacks.