A reuse program in a maintenance environment

The author describes a program of reuse that began in January 1984 with a new product and has evolved to include three other existing products and all new enhancements to these products over the last eight years. The topics covered include: how the program was initiated and how the definition of reuse has changed over time; how the program evolved to include other products; development of the fix process for reuse components; coordination issues between products and the formation of the Shared Components Council; results of reuse metrics; what lessons were learned; and suggested areas for improvement. The emphasis is on what was learned along the way and how the reuse program has evolved to include other products.