Component Reusability

Component Reusability is about building a library of frequently used components, thus allowing new programs to be assembled quickly from existing components. Component Reusability has produced greater schedule and effort savings than any other practice. We have applied this concept not only to the code, but also to the design, data, documentation, test materials, specifications, and plan.

We have created a repository named ‘Component Repository’ to store the components that are identified as commonly used components. Currently this repository stores more than 100 reusable components. The repository has a search feature to look for similar components.

The repository is managed by the Reuse Group, which has members from the design as well as development team. This is a part of our long-term strategy.

How it Works:

During the high-level design phase, a project gets divided into components. These components get divided into various sub-components. For each of these components/sub-components, a decision is made on whether to develop it from scratch or take a similar component from the Component Repository and use it with a few changes. The designer sometimes also recommends that a component should be developed in such a way that it becomes part of the Component Repository.