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Costs of Software Reuse
publish date: 2026/06/12 23:48:8.021024 UTC
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Reuse is not free - there are costs associated with it. Which of the following are recognised costs of software reuse? Select ALL that apply.
Correct Answer
(1) The time spent searching for software to reuse and assessing whether it meets your needs
(2) The cost of buying the reusable software (which can be very high for large off-the-shelf systems)
(3) The cost of adapting and configuring reusable components or systems to reflect the requirements of your system
(4) The cost of integrating reusable elements with each other and with new code, which can be difficult when providers make conflicting assumptions
Explanation
The four recognised costs of reuse are: (1) time to find and assess suitable software; (2) purchase cost (potentially very high for large COTS systems); (3) adaptation and configuration cost; (4) integration cost - particularly when reusing software from different sources where providers may make conflicting assumptions about how their software will be reused.
Reference
Software Engineering, Ian Sommerville, 10th edition