The Risks of Reuse

I frequently read about how software reuse is the miracle cure for a lot of ailments in corporate software development. That's why I was struck by this article by Marcia Kaufman, a partner with Hurwitz & Associates, titled, "The Risks and Rewards of Reuse." Yes, there are problems associated with software reuse, and Kaufman outlines them.

For example, one risk is:

Poor Process. This typically occurs when the level of collaboration between business and IT is inadequate. Within SOA the business and data services should accurately represent the business processes followed by the organization. Collaboration between business and IT needs to result in the business having a clear understanding of which definitions of data make sense and when to use them, how to apply rules and what level of granularity is appropriate for business services. Effective reuse will be much harder to achieve unless there is a framework in place that ensures that business and IT are singing from the same song sheet.