Artifact: Asset Repository
The Asset Repository is a composite artifact that includes Reusable Assets.
Domains: Asset-Based Development
Work Product Kinds: Infrastructure
Purpose

The purpose of this artifact is to provide access to Reusable Assets.

Relationships
Description
Main Description

The Asset Repository includes the Reusable Assets to which the asset consumer has access. It may include asset catalogs and repositories (hosted by the organization or a third party on the Internet), as well as internal repositories (on the user's local hard disk, a project's local network, and/or an organization's Intranet). Such a definition of the Asset Repository is essential because it offers much greater flexibility to the asset consumer, and it supports a wider ecosystem for asset creation, management, and application.

The Asset Repository represents the context in which Reusable Assets are published. Describing it as a composite artifact is really an optimization from a process description point of view, which provides a way to describe where assets are published, and what assets are searched for, generically, without having to repeatedly say that the "reuse library" could be a company-wide repository, a project-wide repository, a third-party repository, etc.

The Asset Repository supports different kinds of context-dependent searches, navigation, and retrieval of assets (or parts of assets).

Brief Outline

The Asset Repository in general may be organized to meet the needs of specific asset consumers and may enforce specific security policies.  For example, the Asset Repository may be organized into "groups" to represent repositories with a specific scope:

  • Workspace repositories
  • Department/Workgroup repositories
  • Enterprise repositories
  • Internet repositories
  • Vertical asset repositories
  • Horizontal asset repositories

Illustrations
Examples
Tailoring
Impact of not having

Whereas asset-based development may be conducted without a library, or repository, an Asset Repository is strongly recommended for all organizations and projects that are currently (or are planning to) produce or consume Reusable Assets.


Representation OptionsUML Representation: None