Architectural evolution of a software product line: An experience report

Abstract

This work presents an experience report on the architectural decisions taken in the evolution of a Software Product Line (SPL) of Model-based Testing tools (PLeTs). This SPL was partially designed and developed with the intention of minimizing effort and time-to-market during the development of a family of performance testing tools. With the evolution of our research and the addition of new features to the SPL, we identified limitations in the initial architectural design of PLeTs' components, which led us to redesign its Software Product Line Architecture (SPLA). In this paper, we discuss the main issues that led to changes in our SPLA, as well as present the design decisions that facilitate its evolution in the context of an industrial environment. We will also report our experiences on architecture modifications in the evolution of our SPL with the intention of allowing easier maintenance in a volatile development environment.