Economic Foundations for Pricing Software Reuse Repositories.
Abstract
Establishing and operating software repositories are important elements in the DoD's plan to encourage software reuse. One way to manage such repositories is through a fee-for-service arrangement, which involves charging a fee to the users of the repositories and using the proceeds to reimburse the repository for costs incurred in providing products and services. This paper examines the economic foundations for setting prices for repository products and services that strike an optimal balance between encouraging reuse and recovering costs. We argue that the most important issue in pricing is ownership of the assets. We believe that the most likely outcome under government ownership is a repository full of unusable and unused software assets, and maintain that private ownership would create incentives to supply truly reusable assets. In addition, the private ownership scheme eliminates the government's responsibility for dealing with the complicated problems associated with setting the price of repository assets and a few repository services.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 01, 1994
- Accession Number
- ADA291657
Entities
People
- Bruce N. Angier
- Elizabeth K. Bailey
- Thomas P. Frazler
Organizations
- Institute for Defense Analyses