Using an asset is the main purpose of creating an asset. There is reuse costs associated with using an asset. There are
several factors affecting the costs of reusing an asset, such as:
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Time and effort to search, browse and evaluate an asset.
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The complexity of the asset, which can affect the effort to evaluate the asset, as well as the effort to reuse the
asset.
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Nature and quality of asset packaging material which affects effort to comprehend.
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The level or degree of customization of an asset.
Mitigating these factors with well-organized, well-designed, and well-packaged assets directly affects the breakeven
point, or rather, payoff threshold. See Asset Production tasks to address guidance on well-formed assets to benefit
Asset Consumers.
Black box and white box reuse, or, reusing an asset "as-is" and reusing an asset making internal modifications impacts
the usage strategy for an asset.
Black box style reuse implies the asset internals are not open to the Asset Consumer and it is manipulated only by
formal controls. Services are a great example of black box reuse, providing a formal interface that exposes some level
of control through parameters and messages.
Design models may be white box reuse if the Asset Producer permits access to manipulate the model. White box reuse
implies a requirement to maintain the consumed asset.
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