STRATEGY-DRIVEN REUSE - BRINGING REUSE FROM THE ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT TO THE EXECUTIVE BOARDROOM

Organizations have predominantly utilized reuse in Engineering Departm ents for the purposes of reducing the cost and improving the quality o f the software they develop. While these strategies have been successf ul, we believe that the full potential of reuse can only be tapped whe n reuse is brought to the Executive Boardroom as well. We propose that organizations tap reuse not only for cutting costs, but also for stra tegic and wide-ranging business initiatives such as entering new marke ts, increasing agility in response to a dynamic marketplace, and compe titive positioning and advantage. In order to do so effectively, organ izations must harness the potential of reuse by migrating reuse into t he company's business and product-line planning processes. We present a framework for analyzing and changing reuse business practices. Such practices include cost-reduction reuse, when the organization utilizes reuse for cost savings purposes; reuse-enabled business, when the org anization uses reuse to create new business opportunities; and strateg y-driven reuse, when the organization incorporates reuse in the formul ation of its business and product-line strategy for the purposes of ob taining competitive positioning and advantage. To determine whether or not reuse is the proper software development strategy to pursue, we u tilize concepts in competitive software engineering, an integrated app roach to software development that is attuned to the competitive deman ds of the marketplace. First, a framework is established by identifyin g and analyzing the organization's goals, strengths, and limitations, its market and its competitive environment. Based on these analyses, p ossible business or product strategies are formulated and one or more are chosen that help achieve the organization's goals. Finally, a deve lopment strategy is chosen. Following this choice, each step of the de cision cycle should be re-evaluated to ensure that it is consistent wi th the chosen development strategy.