A Review of Component-Based Software Development

The purpose of this paper is to review and synthesize the current component-based software development (CBSD) literature, to derive a research taxonomy, and to propose an agenda for conducting future research. Due to the rapidly changing nature of technology, increasing development cost, and decreasing development time, researchers and practitioners alike are considering alternatives to traditional development approaches that have been in use and effective for many years. The following research question is examined: Does component-based software development (CBSD) represent a distinct information systems development approach (ISDA), or is it simply an iteration of existing approaches, therefore more accurately representing an information systems development methodology (ISDM)? Based on the review of literature and using Iivari, Hirschheim, and Klein’s four-tiered framework for classifying information systems development as a theoretical lens, a taxonomy is created, six propositions are developed, and future research is recommended