About the Project

As part of our effort to further understand and improve product line practices, we perform a study on variability modeling in real industrial settings. We aim at understanding the language concepts of industrial variability languages, the usage of these concepts in real variability models, and the process of creating such models.

Many companies face the challenge of developing software product lines—a range of products that are significantly similar, but differ in several aspects. Usually, a common platform accommodating variability is developed, from which individual products are derived. This variability has to be managed; particularly, it has to be defined and modeled in some form. We observe many different ways how companies model variability, ranging from informal and ad-hoc practices to formal and fully tool-supported approaches. In our study, we aim to investigate these modeling practices; more precisely, we want to analyze whether and how variability is modeled, which notations, tools and processes are applied, and what specific problems occur.

Publications

• Berger, T., D. Lettner, J. Rubin, P. Grünbacher, A. Silva, M. Becker, M. Chechik, and K. Czarnecki, "What is a Feature? A Qualitative Study of Features in Industrial Software Product Lines", 19th International Software Product Line Conference (SPLC), 2015.
• Berger, T., D. Nair, R. Rublack, J. M. Atlee, K. Czarnecki, and A. Wąsowski, "Three Cases of Feature-Based Variability Modeling in Industry", ACM/IEEE 17th International Conference on Model Driven Engineering Languages and Systems (MODELS), 2014.
• Berger, T., R. Rublack, D. Nair, J. M. Atlee, M. Becker, K. Czarnecki, and A. Wąsowski, "A survey of variability modeling in industrial practice", 7th International Workshop on Variability Modelling of Software-intensive Systems (VaMoS), 2013.

Team Members

• Ralf Rublack (University of Leipzig)
• Thorsten Berger (University of Waterloo)
• Divya Nair (University of Waterloo)
• Martin Becker (Fraunhofer IESE)
• Andrzej Wasowski (IT University of Copenhagen)
• Joanne Atlee (University of Waterloo)
• Krzysztof Czarnecki (University of Waterloo)

Related Former Publications

This work follows-up on our previous studies of variability modeling, particularly in the systems software domain. Specifically:

• Berger, T., S. She, R. Lotufo, A. Wąsowski, and K. Czarnecki, "A Study of Variability Models and Languages in the Systems Software Domain", IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering, vol. 39, issue 12, no. 12, pp. 1611-1640, Dec, 2013.
• Berger, T., S. She, R. Lotufo, A. Wąsowski, and K. Czarnecki, Variability Modeling in the Systems Software Domain, : Generative Software Development Laboratory, University of Waterloo, 2012.
• Berger, T., S. She, R. Lotufo, A. Wąsowski, and K. Czarnecki, "Variability Modeling in the Real: A Perspective from the Operating Systems Domain", 25th IEEE/ACM International Conference on Automated Software Engineering, 09/2010.
• Czarnecki, K., P. Gruenbacher, R. Rabiser, K. Schmid, and A. Wąsowski, "Cool Features and Tough Decisions: A Comparison of Variability Modeling Approaches", Variability Modelling of Software-intensive Systems (VaMoS), Leipzig, Germany, ACM Press, 01/2012.
• Hubaux, A., Y. Xiong, and K. Czarnecki, "A User Survey of Configuration Challenges in Linux and eCos", Variability Modelling of Software-intensive Systems (VaMoS), Leipzig, Germany, ACM Press, 01/2012.
• Passos, L., M. Novakovic, Y. Xiong, T. Berger, K. Czarnecki, and A. Wąsowski, "A Study of Non-Boolean Constraints in Variability Models of an Embedded Operating System", 3rd International Workshop on Feature Oriented Software Development, Munich, Germany, ACM, 08/2011.
• She, S., and T. Berger, Formal Semantics of the Kconfig Language, : University of Waterloo, 2010.
• Berger, T., and S. She, Formal Semantics of the CDL Language, : University of Leipzig, 2010.