Conventional and open source software reuse at Orbotech - an industrial experience

Orbotech, as part of the Israeli Software Reuse Industrial Consortium (ISWRIC), explored the possibilities of software reuse in a three-year project, supported by the Israel Ministry of Trade and Commerce. The positive economical results of the project made software reuse a common practice at Orbotech. Further experimentation of reusing open source software (OSS) demonstrated the high potential of that approach, when carefully integrated with the standard organizational development process. The conclusions from Orbotech experience are that when carefully planned and implemented, software reuse provides the anticipated benefits of cost reduction, improved quality and shorter time-to-market. The reuse of OSS may provide even higher benefits than conventional software reuse. Nevertheless, as in many cases before, implementation of software reuse requires management support and commitment, as well as acceptance by the developers themselves. As such, software reuse implementation proves to be a complex task that needs to be tailored specifically to the implementing organization.