A Systematic Review of Tracing Solutions in Software Product Lines

Software Product Lines are large-scale, multi-unit systems that enable massive, customized production. They consist of a base of reusable artifacts and points of variation that provide the system with flexibility, allowing generating customized products. However, maintaining a system with such complexity and flexibility could be error prone and time consuming. Indeed, any modification (addition, deletion or update) at the level of a product or an artifact would impact other elements. It would therefore be interesting to adopt an efficient and organized traceability solution to maintain the Software Product Line. Still, traceability is not systematically implemented. It is usually set up for specific constraints (e.g. certification requirements), but abandoned in other situations. In order to draw a picture of the actual conditions of traceability solutions in Software Product Lines context, we decided to address a literature review. This review as well as its findings is detailed in the present article.Comment: 22 pages, 9 figures, 7 table

A model for tracing variability from features to product-line architectures: a case study in smart grids

In current software systems with highly volatile requirements, traceability plays a key role to maintain the consistency between requirements and code. Traceability between artifacts involved in the development of Software Product Lines (SPL) is still more critical because it is necessary to guarantee that the selection of variants that realize the different SPL products meet the requirements. Current SPL traceability mechanisms trace from variability in features to variations in the configuration of product-line architecture (PLA) in terms of adding and removing components. However, it is not always possible to materialize the variable features of a SPL through adding or removing components, since sometimes they are materialized inside components, i.e. in part of their functionality: a class, a service and/or an interface. Additionally, variations that happen inside components may crosscut several components of architecture. These kinds of variations are still challenging and their traceability is not currently well-supported. Therefore, it is not possible to guarantee that those SPL products with these kinds of variations meet the requirements. This paper presents a solution for tracing variability from features to PLA by taking these kinds of variations into account. This solution is based on models and traceability between models in order to automate SPL configuration by selecting the variants and realizing the product application. The FPLA modeling framework supports this solution which has been deployed in a software factory. Validation has consisted in putting the solution into practice to develop a product line of power metering management applications for Smart Grids

Traceability in a Sanitary Ware Production System – A Case Study at Ifö Sanitär

Research questions: How to implement a traceability system in an automated sanitary ware production system Deliverables: This thesis establishes whether it is cost beneficial to implement a traceability system for an automated sanitary ware production system where there are no legislative requirements. Methodology: The research method that is used in this thesis is a combination of action research and experimental methods. A literature review, observations and interviews were performed in order to identify existing traceability theories and applications as well as fully understand the production characteristics of sanitary ware manufacturing. In addition, experiments were performed in order to evaluate the most suitable traceability application for the use in an automated sanitary ware production system. Delimitations: This thesis covers the use of traceability and its applications in the automated production lines at Ifö’s factory in Bromölla and it only includes the internal flow of goods at Ifö. Conclusions: The solution includes a direct part marking on each and every product that is produced in Bromölla, with an individual serial number. All product movements will be stored, allowing for the ability to conduct follow-ups on defects and performance of different parts of the production system. It can be concluded that the use of an automated traceability system is cost-beneficial in the automated production lines at Ifö Sanitär

Traceability support in software product lines

Dissertação apresentada na Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia da Universidade Nova de Lisboa para a obtenção do grau de Mestre em Engenharia Informática.Traceability is becoming a necessary quality of any modern software system. The complexity in modern systems is such that, if we cannot rely on good techniques and tools it becomes an unsustainable burden, where software artifacts can hardly be linked to their initial requirements. Modern software systems are composed by a many artifacts (models, code, etc.). Any change in one of them may have repercussions on many components. The assessment of this impact usually comes at a high cost and is highly error-prone. This complexity inherent to software development increases when it comes to Software Product Line Engineering. Traceability aims to respond to this challenge, by linking all the software artifacts that are used, in order to reason about how they influence each others. We propose to specify, design and implement an extensible Traceability Framework that will allow developers to provide traceability for a product line, or the possibility to extend it for other development scenarios. This MSc thesis work is to develop an extensible framework, using Model-Driven techniques and technologies, to provide traceability support for product lines. We also wish to provide basic and advanced traceability queries, and traceability views designed for the needs of each user

Traceability for Model Driven, Software Product Line Engineering

Traceability is an important challenge for software organizations. This is true for traditional software development and even more so in new approaches that introduce more variety of artefacts such as Model Driven development or Software Product Lines. In this paper we look at some aspect of the interaction of Traceability, Model Driven development and Software Product Line

Does traceability play a role in retailer’s strategies for private labels?

Traceability is helping retailers manage food safety risks and support product differentiation. This paper aims to investigate how traceability may be used to screen supplier for private labels dedicated provider pools. Retailers in the UK and Italy have several private label product lines and increasingly select dedicated suppliers. The choice of providers is a typical agency problem as retailers contract the production for their private labels, having incomplete information on types and effort of their suppliers. Different contracts must be designed for suppliers of private labels depending on position of the product line and its food safety risk. A case study, based on the second largest Italian retailer reveals that traceability and quality assurance schemes are used together to manage suppliers of private labelsTraceability, dedicated providers, food products, retailing, vertical coordination, Marketing, Q13, Q18, L81, L66, L15,

Traceability Marketing

This study examines the economic implications for producers of seafood traceability marketing. There is a trend of increasing number of traceability schemes in the marketplace for reasons of health, sustainability, due diligence, transparency, legal and branding etc. European seafood trading companies are taking the opportunity to use these reasons to implement traceability as a central part of their marketing of specific product lines. Traceability enables claims to be made on product and in marketing campaigns. Within the schemes there is often need for verification and monitoring of the entire chain of custody by a third party at significant cost. The marketing may be to final consumer, client company or even NGO to raise profile. Since all links in the supply chain must provide the traceability, this has implications for suppliers. This paper examines how the marketing of traceability affects fishermen, fish farmers and companies involved in exporting traceable seafood products. Furthermore how traceability requirements are developing in terms of what is observed in the marketplace and the capacity of producers to supply this information/service

Modeling of Traceability Information System for Material Flow Control Data.

This paper focuses on data modeling for traceability of material/work flow in information layer of manufacturing control system. The model is able to trace all associated data throughout the product manufacturing from order to final product. Dynamic data processing of Quality and Purchase activities are considered in data modeling as well as Order and Operation base on lots particulars. The modeling consisted of four steps and integrated as one final model. Entity-Relationships Modeling as data modeling methodology is proposed. The model is reengineered with Toad Data Modeler software in physical modeling step. The developed model promises to handle fundamental issues of a traceability system effectively. It supports for customization and real-time control of material in flow in all levels of manufacturing processes. Through enhanced visibility and dynamic store/retrieval of data, all traceability usages and applications is responded. Designed solution is initially applicable as reference data model in identical lot-base traceability system