Quotations from Chairman David (A Little Red Book of Truths to Enlighten and Guide on the Long March Toward the COTS Revolution)
• SEI Report
Publisher
Software Engineering Institute
CMU/SEI Report Number
CMU/SEI-99-SR-010DOI (Digital Object Identifier)
10.1184/R1/6582800.v1Abstract
Quotations from Chairman David is a brief and humorous examination of some issues related to commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) products in DoD and government systems. The author, David Carney, has borrowed from a most unusual historical source—a certain "Little Red Book" popular in the 1960s—and put together some useful observations on some of the facts and fictions that underlie the current interest in COTS-based systems.
Cite This SEI Report
Carney, D. (1999, February 1). Quotations from Chairman David (A Little Red Book of Truths to Enlighten and Guide on the Long March Toward the COTS Revolution). (SEI Report CMU/SEI-99-SR-010). Retrieved August 19, 2026, from https://doi.org/10.1184/R1/6582800.v1.
@techreport{carney_1999,
author={Carney, David},
title={Quotations from Chairman David (A Little Red Book of Truths to Enlighten and Guide on the Long March Toward the COTS Revolution)},
month={Feb},
year={1999},
number={{CMU/SEI-99-SR-010},
institution={Software Engineering Institute, Carnegie Mellon University},
doi={10.1184/R1/6582800.v1},
url={https://doi.org/10.1184/R1/6582800.v1},
note={Accessed: 2026-Aug-19}
}
Carney, David. "Quotations from Chairman David (A Little Red Book of Truths to Enlighten and Guide on the Long March Toward the COTS Revolution)." (CMU/SEI-99-SR-010). Software Engineering Institute, Carnegie Mellon University. Software Engineering Institute, February 1, 1999. https://doi.org/10.1184/R1/6582800.v1.
D. Carney, "Quotations from Chairman David (A Little Red Book of Truths to Enlighten and Guide on the Long March Toward the COTS Revolution)," Software Engineering Institute, Carnegie Mellon University. Software Engineering Institute, SEI Report CMU/SEI-99-SR-010, 1-Feb-1999 [Online]. Available: https://doi.org/10.1184/R1/6582800.v1. [Accessed: 19-Aug-2026].
Carney, David. "Quotations from Chairman David (A Little Red Book of Truths to Enlighten and Guide on the Long March Toward the COTS Revolution)." (SEI Report CMU/SEI-99-SR-010). Software Engineering Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, Software Engineering Institute, 1 Feb. 1999. https://doi.org/10.1184/R1/6582800.v1. Accessed 19 Aug. 2026.
Carney, David. Quotations from Chairman David (A Little Red Book of Truths to Enlighten and Guide on the Long March Toward the COTS Revolution). CMU/SEI-99-SR-010. Software Engineering Institute. 1999. DOI: 10.1184/R1/6582800.v1. https://doi.org/10.1184/R1/6582800.v1