Usage Preconditions
Context
Applicability
Problem
Forces
Explicitly document preconditions that must be satisfied in order to successfully integrate a component into your solution.
Participants
Structure
Collaborations
Resulting Context
Consequences
Known Uses
Example
Implementation
Sample Code
Related Patterns
ComponentDevelopment
This will soon be a ProtoPattern but for now the idea is that one pattern in the resulting context for CautiousBuyOverBuild is that you be aware of UsagePreconditions. That is, whether you reuse an existing in-house component or purchase one, if you are an assembler you should focus on on that part of the documentation (if it exists) describing the implicit dependencies the component or component framework has on the existence network, hardware, software, or other resources. Obviously if you are a component developer you need to document these so dependencies are known by its reusers.