Systems and Software Product Line Engineering with the SPL Lifecycle Framework

Abstract

Mainstream forces are driving Software Product Line (SPL) approaches to take a more holistic perspective that is deeply integrated into the systems and software engineering lifecycle. These forces illustrate that SPL challenges will not be solved at any one stage in the product engineering lifecycle, nor will they be solved in independent and disparate silos in each of the different stages of the lifecycle. We explore our response to these forces – a SPL Lifecycle Framework. The motivation for this technology framework is to ease the integration of tools, assets and processes across the full systems and software development lifecycle. The goal is to provide product line engineers with a common set of SPL concepts and constructs for all of their tools and assets, at every stage of the lifecycle, and to assure that product line development traceability and processes flow cleanly from one stage of the lifecycle to another.