Software Reuse Survey, Page 9

Some Basic Observations

We are still analyzing the results of our survey, but here are some basic observations based on what we have seen so far.

The types of components that people prefer to reuse are not the same type of components that people make available for reuse. People tend to reuse smaller components like code fragments or libraries, but make available larger components like subsystems or complete applications. If more of what is desired were provided, reuse should increase.
The primary motivations for reuse -- saving time, ensuring reliability, and saving money -- are the same ones that are often used to promote the benefits of software reuse. This is provides some evidence that the expected benefits are the same as the realized benefits.
Top barriers that prevented people from reusing existing artifacts were that the software was difficult to understand or poorly documented, it didn't exactly match the requirements, and it was too complex or difficult to adapt. Reuse should increase if improvements were made in these areas, producing software that is easier to understand and adapt, and providing better documentation.
Top suggestions for increasing reuse were an Earth science catalog or repository for reusable artifacts, greater use of open source licensing, and education and guidance on reuse. This suggests that there is much that can be done to improve software reuse within the Earth science community, and our Working Group is attempting to facilitate that improvement.