Variability points may be exposed on the asset, or on specific artifacts of the asset. The nature of the variability
point changes depending on the type of artifact. For example, if an asset has a use case model (an artifact), the
variability point on that model could be the location in the model where the Asset Consumer could extend the model as
needed. Or, if the asset contains a test script, the variability point could be the test data provided to the script.
In general, the more variability points on an asset, the more difficult it is to create and use. A balance should be
found between flexibility and customization (i.e., more variability points) and ease of use (i.e., fewer variability
points).
The need for balance also exists at the Repository level. Decreasing the variability points on an asset typically means
increasing the number of similar assets in the Repository. Increasing the number of similar assets in the repository
often increases the level of effort for evaluation on the part of the Asset Consumer, which can increase the reuse
cost.
This is a balance to be monitored by the administrators and asset owners.
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