Architecture: work in progress
[DRAFT] Common components
- Last reviewed
- 7 September 2026
- Owner
- Head of Architecture
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Common components are typically software or technical systems created once and reused many times in different services or business contexts.
Examples include applications, data, a network, security products and hosting. They are like building blocks, typically mapped to a business or technical capability, which can be used to deliver more complex services or systems.
##Key characteristics of common components Common components can be of any size but they all share the same characteristics. They are:
- designed according to common standards, principles and patterns, with independent quality assurance
- designed and developed in a modular, scalable and resilient way to support ease of reuse and reliability
- mapped to a specific business or technical capability/service. This enables easy search and prevents duplication
- treated as an asset and therefore require support, continuous improvement, enhancement or replacement
- standalone but work alongside other common components, so that a change on one component doesn’t affect another
Why we use common components
Using common components helps you build better services more quickly and consistently. They help teams to:
- speed to market – reuse can save time to build, test and deliver services. You should not have to build services from scratch every time
- reduce duplication and costs – the more you can reuse, the more you can save through reduced duplication. This will enable you to focus your efforts on the innovative aspects of the service
- reduce risk – using components that meet common standards can reduce the risk of introducing problems and make it easier to build services that meet DfE expectations
Available components
There is a distinction between components used to build a service and tools to enable the building of services.