2.15.3 When Should Reusable Parts Be Used?

Reusable parts enhance productivity in the following situations:

• Simplification and Standardization – Whenever you suspect that the logic you are going to create can be simplified, standardized and reused in more than one form. The size and scale of the reusable part can vary from the stop/go lights on a task bar to complex prompting facilities.

• Smart Visual Components – You can create "smart" visual components that you can reuse in hundreds of different forms. 

• Increased Modularity – If you have ever designed a form with a tabbed notebook containing 10 tabs you will realize that making the content of each tab into an individual component (even if it is not actually reused anywhere else) will make your life easier.     

• Compound Reusable Parts – As your skill in designing and reusing parts increases you will recognize that you can build compound reusable parts that are themselves constructed of other reusable parts

Plan the Use of Reusable Parts

Reusable parts are a very useful and powerful productivity aid in almost all situations. However, you must think carefully whether a reusable part needs to be created because if you create too many reusable parts it becomes difficult to keep track of them.

Plan them carefully, document them properly and organize them consistently in appropriate groups and frameworks.

Use Reusable Parts in other Reusable Parts

You should note that you can create reusable parts that contain other reusable parts.