In the present study software life cycle and reusability issues that arise during component based software development are discussed. The first part concentrates on mechanisms to achieve software reusability such as composition and inheritance. It also outlines the main reasons why software is not extensively reused and examines the difficulties associated with software reusability. In the second part, the main issues concerning a seamless software life cycle model are considered, its purpose was to present a software life cycle model that takes component based software development into account. Finally the article covers other general aspects that form a more complete assessment of the whole software process; for instance the most frequently used abstraction mechanisms and an estimate of the time and effort spent on each phase of the described life cycle model.