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An Analysis of Variability Modeling Concepts: Expressiveness vs. Analyzability

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Safe and Secure Software Reuse (ICSR 2013)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNPSE,volume 7925))

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Abstract

Variability modeling is a core activity of software product line engineering. Over the years, many different approaches to variability modeling have been proposed. Typically, the individual approaches have been designed without a detailed justification on why certain modeling concepts should be used. This yields a rather unfunded selection of modeling approaches in practice, e.g., selecting approaches that provide higher modeling concepts than actually needed, but less analyses capabilities than required. Thus, we propose that the focus of an analysis should not be to determine the best modeling language, but rather to provide a characterization on when to use what kind of approach. In particular, the selection of one approach for a specific situation should be driven from the required modeling concepts (expressiveness) and the required analyzability.

In this paper, we propose a classification of core concepts of variability modeling based on expressiveness and analyzability. We discuss the methodology for and the classification of variability modeling concepts illustrated by a running example. The contribution of this paper is a modeling approach-independent classification of variability modeling concepts and their dependencies to provide a systematic and rationale basis to anyone designing, standardizing, implementing or selecting a specific variability modeling approach.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Software Systems Engineering, University of Hildesheim, Marienburger Platz 22, 31141, Hildesheim, Germany

    Holger Eichelberger, Christian Kröher & Klaus Schmid

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  1. Holger Eichelberger
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  2. Christian Kröher
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  3. Klaus Schmid
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Intecs SpA, Via Umberto Forti 5, 56121, Pisa, Italy

    John Favaro

  2. Dipartimento di Automatica e Informatica, Politecnico di Torino, Corso Duca degli Abruzzi 24, 10129, Torino, Italy

    Maurizio Morisio

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Eichelberger, H., Kröher, C., Schmid, K. (2013). An Analysis of Variability Modeling Concepts: Expressiveness vs. Analyzability. In: Favaro, J., Morisio, M. (eds) Safe and Secure Software Reuse. ICSR 2013. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 7925. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-38977-1_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-38977-1_3

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-38976-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-38977-1

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