Visualising inter-model relationships in software product lines.

Abstract

Within Software Product Line (SPL) Engineering,feature modelling is a prevalent mechanism for managing variability but is insufficient for describing it as a whole and for relating its different aspects. Other modelling techniques such as Decision modelling and Component modelling provide different views of the underlying SPL data. To facilitate certain approaches in product line engineering, such as toolsupported product derivation or automated analyses we need to describe the SPL with multiple inter-related models. In this paper, we discuss how to represent the relationships that exist between those models and present an approach for communicating the relationships using visualisation techniques. We also discuss the visualisation through example scenarios and argue its benefits.