COSYSMO Workshop 2010 – Reuse Questions
Reuse Opportunities
1) What systems engineering products, artifacts, or tools do you consider for reuse? Who
identifies these? Using what criteria?
Reuse Benefits
2) How would an organization estimate potential/expected benefits from reuse? How does
this compare to the rule of thumb that claims that “the breakeven point for reuse is the
4th application”?
3) Would the breakeven point change based on project size/complexity?
Reuse Strategies
4) How do reuse strategies differ between: identifying reuse opportunities at the
component versus system level?
5) How would reuse come into consideration during make/buy decisions?
6) Do planned reuse investments occur?
Planning
7) Ideally, when would you consider/plan for developing and eventually incorporating a
reused product? At what point would you consider the risks associated with impacting
other aspects of the project too great to incorporate a reused product?
8) What considerations would be evaluated if an opportunity for reuse emerged during the
development phase?
9) Is reuse ever mandated as a requirement? Could the desire to reuse a specific artifact
influence the design of the system?
Reuse Investment
10) What would you assume for a reuse efficiency (i.e. how much could you reuse if given
the opportunity)? What considerations factor into this assumption?
11) How much would you set aside to develop a heritage product into a usable one? What
considerations would you take into account?
12) Where would the resources for developing a heritage product for a new application
come from?
Reuse Constraints
13) How would you evaluate the cost/performance risk associated with reusing a product
that was designed for different performance (i.e., reliability) requirements?
14) What would be the cut-off point for go/no-go on reuse given these risks?
15) Do guidance/rules exist for when a product is no longer applicable and should not be
reused? Does the notion of half life of products exist?
Organizational Factors
16) How can an organization identify reuse opportunities (i.e. data repository, tacit
knowledge from SMEs, etc.)?
17) How can organizational culture promote (or hinder) strategic reuse decisions?