Reuse lifecycles

Enterprise reuse is not a 'one-and-done' initiative. Enterprise reuse activities should occur at the beginning, in the middle, and at the end of your development initiatives.

In the Discover and Prepare phases, consider how the solution supports your business architecture, be sure to design for re-use, and start from the center out. 

Think about your solution requirements in terms of reusable modular capabilities and then further categorize them in the following way:

• Identify “blocks” required
• Identify “blocks” to reuse
• Identify “blocks” to build

In the Build and Adopt phases, build using re-useable features (Modules), relevant records, and configuration sets. While you are building your application, consider what needs to be built as a reusable asset in Dev Studio, versus what can be configured or assembled in App Studio.

When you are ready to deploy, be sure to work with your governing body to publish new reusable assets into the Reuse Catalog for future needs.

In the following image, click the + icons to learn more about enterprise reuse during the development lifecycle:

Reusable assets need to be managed throughout their lifecycle, with well-defined processes and supporting tools such as an enterprise reuse catalog. The lifecycle of a reusable asset has 5 distinct stages:

1. Identify: For every new application, identify candidates for reuse; you can also harvest candidates for reuse from existing applications. Clearly define requirements for the asset and be sure to capture target reuse metrics for the asset.
2. Build: For every reusable asset that is targeted for build, it must be prioritize against other reusable asset needs, assigned to a team to build, built, and then adequately documented in terms of how to consume and/or configure the reusable asset.
3. Deploy: When it comes time to deploy the reusable asset, be sure to capture the development metrics for the asset (effort that went into building the asset, targeted usage, etc), work with your governing body to add the reusable asset to your Reuse Catalog, and be sure to add the appropriate metadata and documentation for the asset so that future consumers can find it and understand how to use it.
4. Consume: As your teams prepare for new projects, you should evaluate the requirements of the new applications to determine which reusable assets can be used from your Reuse Catalog. You can also re-evaluate existing applications to determine if they should be refactored to leverage a reusable asset. Of course, always leverage reusable assets instead of reinventing the wheel.
5. Maintain: Manage each reusable asset (Module) as if it were an application, improving them as needed and maintaining versions. Establish a method for communicating updates to consumers. And avoid fundamental changes that could break existing applications.

In the following image, click the + icons to learn more about what happens at each lifecycle stage of a reusable asset: