1.3. Software reuse¶

The ‘reuse’ of software refers to the set of activities carried out to enable the software to be used within a different context from that for which it was originally created, in order to satisfy requirements similar to those that led to its initial development. The original product is ‘transported’ into its new context, enriched, if necessary, with additional functionalities and technical characteristics that may represent ‘added value’ for its users.

Through the combined provisions of Articles 68 and 69 of the CAD, software for reuse is exclusively that released under open licence by a public administration. Therefore, this is a subset of all open source software available for acquisition. These guidelines distinguish, where appropriate, the methods in which public administration software under an open licence is acquired, in comparison to third-party open source software.

A fundamental condition of reuse in the context of public administrations is that an administration that ‘reuses’ software receives it free of charge from the transferring administration, and in acquiring it only incurs the costs of its adaptation, not those of design and implementation.