In discussing aspects of the Customer and Values Elements (which addresses market stability, market history, market predictability and culture of the organization), the group separated the discussion into two groups: (1) short-term benefits under initial software reuse and (2) long-term benefits under institutionalized software reuse. Furthermore, the group defined ``customer'' as either the end-product user or the software developer.
During the short-term, or when software reuse is being initiated into an enterprise, the benefits gained by the customer is dependent upon the availability of reusable assets, the understanding of the customer, and the product family size. If there are no available reusable assets and the product family size is small, then the product will take much longer to go to market. If there are no available reusable assets, but the product family size is large, developing the product suite will be faster, but the first products will have a longer time to market. If reusable assets are available and the customer's needs and wants are understood, then, the benefits to the customer would be similar to that of the long-term or institutionalized reuse.
In the long-term, when software reuse is institutionalized, the benefits to the customer include: consistency across products, lower product price, lower service/maintenance costs are lower, the product is available sooner and a more reliable, higher quality product.