Product Line Approaches in Software Engineering April 29, 2013 Sophia Wu

Why should we study software product line?  Any organization that develops software creates multiple software application that have some char in common, e.g. application architecture, run on same platform, support same segment of business.  With customers growing, low cost, high quality become the most important performance in competitiveness.

What is software product line  “a set of software-intensive systems that share a common, managed set of features satisfying the specific needs of a particular market segment or mission and that are developed from a common set of core assets in a prescribed way” --Carnegie Mellon Software Engineering Institute

Product Line pricipals  Variability management  Business-centric  Architecture-centric  Two-life-cycle approach

Product line development

CORE ASSET DEVELOPMENT  Core asset development is the creation and maintenance of the artifacts or core assets in the product line  These core assets are used to create systems that match the quality criteria of the product line.  The goal of the core asset development activity is to establish a production capability for products

PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT  Product development involves the creation of products or systems from the core assets of the product line.  The product development activity depends on the product line scope, the core assets, and the production plan–plus the product description for each individual product.t line.

MANAGEMENT  Organizational management must create an organizational structure that makes sense for the enterprise and make sure that the organizational units receive the right resources (for example, well-trained personnel) in sufficient amounts.  One of the most important things that management must do is create an adoption plan that describes the desired state of the organization (that is, routinely producing products in the product line) and a strategy for achieving that state.  instituting a product line practice at an organization requires a strong commitment from management.

Product Line Benefit  Reduce Cost  Improved Time to Market  Flexible Staffing and Productivity  Increased Predictability  Higher Quality

577 course process - ICSM

References    