COMMERCIAL OFF THE SHELF (COTS) ITEM COMMERCIAL OFF THE SHELF (COTS) ITEM A product, material, component, subsystem, or system sold or traded to the general public in the course of normal business operations at prices based on established catalog or market prices. COMMERCIAL OFF-THE-SHELF PRODUCTS Products in regular production sold in substantial quantities to the general pub- lic or industry at established market or catalog prices. COMMODITY CONTROL LIST (CCL) The list of items in the Export Administration Regulations at 15 CPR 399. Licenses from the Department of Commerce are required to export such items and the technical data relating to them. COMMON CAUSE A source of variation that affects all the indi- vidual values of the process output being studied. In control chart analysis, it appears as part of the random process variation. COMMON HAND TOOLS Items of tools found in common usage or applicable to a variety of operations or to a single opera- tion on a variety of material. Screwdrivers, hammers, and wrenches are examples of common hand tools.