Automated analysis in feature modelling and product configuration

Abstract

The automated analysis of feature models is one of the thriving topics of research in the software product line and variability management communities that has attracted more attention in the last years. A recent literature review reported that more than 30 analysis operations have been identified and different analysis mechanisms have been proposed. Product configuration is a well established research field with more than 30 years of successful applications in different industrial domains. Our hypothesis, that is not really new, is that these two independent areas of research have interesting synergies that have not been fully explored. To try to explore the potential synergies systematically, in this paper we provide a rapid review to bring together these previously disparate streams of work. We define a set of research questions and give a preliminary answer to some of them. We conclude that there are many research opportunities in the synergy of these independent areas. © 2013 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.