A systematic review of quality attributes and measures for software product lines

[EN] It is widely accepted that software measures provide an appropriate mechanism for understanding, monitoring, controlling, and predicting the quality of software development projects. In software product lines (SPL), quality is even more important than in a single software product since, owing to systematic reuse, a fault or an inadequate design decision could be propagated to several products in the family. Over the last few years, a great number of quality attributes and measures for assessing the quality of SPL have been reported in literature. However, no studies summarizing the current knowledge about them exist. This paper presents a systematic literature review with the objective of identifying and interpreting all the available studies from 1996 to 2010 that present quality attributes and/or measures for SPL. These attributes and measures have been classified using a set of criteria that includes the life cycle phase in which the measures are applied; the corresponding quality characteristics; their support for specific SPL characteristics (e. g., variability, compositionality); the procedure used to validate the measures, etc. We found 165 measures related to 97 different quality attributes. The results of the review indicated that 92% of the measures evaluate attributes that are related to maintainability. In addition, 67% of the measures are used during the design phase of Domain Engineering, and 56% are applied to evaluate the product line architecture. However, only 25% of them have been empirically validated. In conclusion, the results provide a global vision of the state of the research within this area in order to help researchers in detecting weaknesses, directing research efforts, and identifying new research lines. In particular, there is a need for new measures with which to evaluate both the quality of the artifacts produced during the entire SPL life cycle and other quality characteristics. There is also a need for more validation (both theoretical and empirical) of existing measures. In addition, our results may be useful as a reference guide for practitioners to assist them in the selection or the adaptation of existing measures for evaluating their software product lines. © 2011 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.This research has been funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation under the MULTIPLE (Multimodeling Approach For Quality-Aware Software Product Lines) project with ref. TIN2009-13838.Montagud Gregori, S.; Abrahao Gonzales, SM.; Insfrán Pelozo, CE. (2012). A systematic review of quality attributes and measures for software product lines. Software Quality Journal. 20(3-4):425-486. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11219-011-9146-7S425486203-4Abdelmoez, W., Nassar, D. 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Pemetaan Secara Sistematis Pada Metrik Kualitas Perangkat Lunak

. Software quality assurance is one method to increase quality of software. Improvement of software quality can be measured with software quality metric. Software quality metrics are part of software quality measurement model. Currently software quality models have a very diverse types, so that software quality metrics become increasingly diverse. The various types of metrics to measure the quality of software create proper metrics selection issues to fit the desired quality measurement parameters. Another problem is the validation need to be performed on these metrics in order to obtain objective and valid results. In this paper, a systematic mapping of the software quality metric is conducted in the last nine years. This paper brings up issues in software quality metrics that can be used by other researchers. Furthermore, current trends are introduced and discussed

Software Product Line Engineering: Paradigm for Product Family

Abstract The modeling foundation of Software Product Line Engineering (SPLE) is the segregation of variant features of all the products which belong to a family. In brief, its aim is to catalog what is common and what differs between products. Feature is a basic term associated with SPL and feature model diagram portrays the product deviation. SPLE is a powerful approach to increase the efficiency of the software engineering process and variety of software system can be developed from a single software product line. Therefore it should be realized that a low quality design can ripple through many generated software systems. This state of the art presents a comprehensive overview of the software product lines theory and discusses the relationship between feature models and the various qualities attributes affecting them .The available methods (metrics) to measure these attributes are also discussed in brief

Extractability Effectiveness on Software Product Line

A software product line consists of a family of software systems. Most of quality attributes are defined for single systems. When we are facing a family of products instead of a single system, some aspects of architecture evaluation, such as cost, time, and reusability of available assets, become more highlighted. In this paper a new quality attribute for software product line, which we called it extractability, is introduced. Also extractability measuring method and relationship between extractability with some quality attributes is presented. At the end, Extractability Effectiveness on Software Product Line is evaluated in practice.DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.11591/ijece.v4i1.410

Elaboración de métricas basada en un framework de atributos para líneas de productos

Una línea de productos es un conjunto de productos relacionados que comparten unas características comunes, así como una variabilidad. Lo anterior facilita la producción masiva de dichos productos además de su adaptación a requisitos particulares. La ingeniería de líneas de productos es un paradigma de producción que permite la personalización masiva de productos. Esto ayuda a una mayor reutilización de componentes, a disminuir el tiempo de desarrollo y a mejorar la calidad final de los productos. Como en cualquier rama de la ingeniería, en la ingeniería de líneas de productos la medición juega un papel clave. Esto permite una mejor gestión de los procesos y los recursos requeridos por estos, así como monitorear la calidad de los productos. Este proceso se implementa mediante el uso de métricas, que permiten tener una medida cuantitativa del grado en el que un sistema, componente o proceso poseen un atributo dado (como costo, mantenibilidad o complejidad). Sin embargo; ni la comunidad académica ni la industria, cuentan con un framework para la aplicación de métricas en líneas de productos. Además, en la ingeniería en general y particularmente en la ingeniería de software, no existe un consenso en la terminología ni en una metodología de medición. Todo esto lleva a que se presenten dificultades, tanto para la definición como para la validación de métricas, en la ingeniería de software y en la ingeniería de líneas de productos. Durante el desarrollo del presente trabajo se propone un framework de medición, enfocado en los atributos, para la ingeniería de líneas de productos. También se define un conjunto de métricas con base en dicho framework. El trabajo propuesto comprende un mapeo sistemático de la literatura sobre la medición en la ingeniería de líneas de productos, un framework de medición centrado en un conjunto de atributos extraídos de la ingeniería de líneas de productos, un conjunto de métricas para líneas de productos y la correspondiente validación de dichas métricas con un análisis teórico.Abstract: A product line is a set of related products that share some common features and variable ones. It allows the massive production of those products besides their adaptation to particular requirements. Product line engineering is a production paradigm that implies mass customization of products. It helps to a greater reuse of components, to decrease the time of development and to improve the final quality of products. Like in any other engineering branch, in product line engineering measurement has a key role. It allows a better management of the processes and the resources required by them, as well as to monitor the quality of the products. This process is implemented through the use of metrics, which allow to have a quantitative measure of the degree in which a system, component or process possesses a given attribute (like cost, maintainability or complexity). However, neither the academy nor the industry have a framework for using metrics in product lines. Although, in engineering but mainly in software engineering, there is not a consensus in a measurement terminology or in a measurement methodology. All this has led to some difficulties in the definition and the validation of metrics in software engineering and in product line engineering. In this work, we propose a measurement framework for product line engineering focused on attributes. We also define a set of metrics based on this framework. The proposed work includes a systematic mapping about measurement in product line engineering, a measurement framework focused on the attributes of the product lines, a set of metrics for product lines and the validation of those metrics with a theoretical analysis.Maestrí

Business applications development based on software product lines approach

Planski pristup ponovnoj upotrebi (engl.reuse) kod razvoja softvera, koji se naziva linijaza proizvodnju softvera (engl.software product lines), uspješno se primjenjuje u poslovnim sektorima kao što su mobilna telefonija, kućna elektronika, auto industrija, brodogradnja, avio industrija, vojna industrija, medicinska oprema, itd.Područje primjene ovog pristupa nije ograničeno samo na navedene industrije, već se odnosi na razvoj softvera općenito, pa tako i na razvoj poslovnih aplikacija. Međutim, primjena linija za proizvodnju softvera u razvoju poslovnih aplikacija nije uobičajena. Studije slučaja i znanstvena literatura iz ovog područja, uglavnom opisuju primjenuovog pristupa u navedenim sektorima, dok područje primjene u razvoju poslovnih aplikacija nije dovoljno istraženo. U ovoj disertaciji definiraju se: (1) funkcionalni zahtjevi referentne arhitekture za poslovne aplikacije prema pristupu linija za proizvodnju softvera, (2) implementiraju se artefakti referentne arhitekture,(3) provjerava korisnost (engl.usefulness) referentne arhitekture, te (4) predlažu i provjeravaju nove metrike za mjerenje utjecaja referentne arhitekture na održavljivost linije za proizvodnju softvera. Istraživanje je provedeno kroz primjenu artefakata predložene referentne arhitekture u jednoj financijskoj instituciji. Znanstveni doprinos odnosi se unaprjeđenje referentne arhitekture poslovnih aplikacija prema pristupu linija za proizvodnju softvera s ciljem njihovog jeftinijeg i bržeg razvoja i održavanja, te povećanja njihove kvalitete.Za mjerenje kvalitete poslovnih aplikacija razvijen je i potvrđen novi model i metrikeza ocjenu održavljivosti linije za proizvodnju softveraza poslovne primjene.A software product lines as a planned approach to reuse in software development, has been successfully applied in business domains such as mobile phones, home electronics, automobile industry, shipbuilding, airline industry, military industry, medical equipment,etc. The use of this approach is not limited to those industries, but it could also be applied to the software development in general, including the development of business applications, which is not usual. Case studies and scientific literature in this area, mainly describe the use of this approach in mentioned domains, while the area of the business applications development has not been addressed enough. This dissertation defines: (1) functional requirements of reference architecture for business applications based on software product lines approach, (2) implementation of the reference architecture artifacts, (3) evaluate the usefulness of the reference architecture, and (4) propose and validate novel metrics to measure the impact of reference architecture on software product lines maintainability.The research wasdone usingthe proposed reference architecture artifacts in a financial institution. The scientific contributionis related to the improvement of reference architecture for business applications based on software product lines approach,with the goalto decrease cost and time of their development and maintenance, and increase the irquality. To measure the qualityof business application swe have developed and validated a new modeland metrics for assessing the maintainability of the software product line for business applications

Business applications development based on software product lines approach

Planski pristup ponovnoj upotrebi (engl.reuse) kod razvoja softvera, koji se naziva linijaza proizvodnju softvera (engl.software product lines), uspješno se primjenjuje u poslovnim sektorima kao što su mobilna telefonija, kućna elektronika, auto industrija, brodogradnja, avio industrija, vojna industrija, medicinska oprema, itd.Područje primjene ovog pristupa nije ograničeno samo na navedene industrije, već se odnosi na razvoj softvera općenito, pa tako i na razvoj poslovnih aplikacija. Međutim, primjena linija za proizvodnju softvera u razvoju poslovnih aplikacija nije uobičajena. Studije slučaja i znanstvena literatura iz ovog područja, uglavnom opisuju primjenuovog pristupa u navedenim sektorima, dok područje primjene u razvoju poslovnih aplikacija nije dovoljno istraženo. U ovoj disertaciji definiraju se: (1) funkcionalni zahtjevi referentne arhitekture za poslovne aplikacije prema pristupu linija za proizvodnju softvera, (2) implementiraju se artefakti referentne arhitekture,(3) provjerava korisnost (engl.usefulness) referentne arhitekture, te (4) predlažu i provjeravaju nove metrike za mjerenje utjecaja referentne arhitekture na održavljivost linije za proizvodnju softvera. Istraživanje je provedeno kroz primjenu artefakata predložene referentne arhitekture u jednoj financijskoj instituciji. Znanstveni doprinos odnosi se unaprjeđenje referentne arhitekture poslovnih aplikacija prema pristupu linija za proizvodnju softvera s ciljem njihovog jeftinijeg i bržeg razvoja i održavanja, te povećanja njihove kvalitete.Za mjerenje kvalitete poslovnih aplikacija razvijen je i potvrđen novi model i metrikeza ocjenu održavljivosti linije za proizvodnju softveraza poslovne primjene.A software product lines as a planned approach to reuse in software development, has been successfully applied in business domains such as mobile phones, home electronics, automobile industry, shipbuilding, airline industry, military industry, medical equipment,etc. The use of this approach is not limited to those industries, but it could also be applied to the software development in general, including the development of business applications, which is not usual. Case studies and scientific literature in this area, mainly describe the use of this approach in mentioned domains, while the area of the business applications development has not been addressed enough. This dissertation defines: (1) functional requirements of reference architecture for business applications based on software product lines approach, (2) implementation of the reference architecture artifacts, (3) evaluate the usefulness of the reference architecture, and (4) propose and validate novel metrics to measure the impact of reference architecture on software product lines maintainability.The research wasdone usingthe proposed reference architecture artifacts in a financial institution. The scientific contributionis related to the improvement of reference architecture for business applications based on software product lines approach,with the goalto decrease cost and time of their development and maintenance, and increase the irquality. To measure the qualityof business application swe have developed and validated a new modeland metrics for assessing the maintainability of the software product line for business applications

Business applications development based on software product lines approach

Planski pristup ponovnoj upotrebi (engl.reuse) kod razvoja softvera, koji se naziva linijaza proizvodnju softvera (engl.software product lines), uspješno se primjenjuje u poslovnim sektorima kao što su mobilna telefonija, kućna elektronika, auto industrija, brodogradnja, avio industrija, vojna industrija, medicinska oprema, itd.Područje primjene ovog pristupa nije ograničeno samo na navedene industrije, već se odnosi na razvoj softvera općenito, pa tako i na razvoj poslovnih aplikacija. Međutim, primjena linija za proizvodnju softvera u razvoju poslovnih aplikacija nije uobičajena. Studije slučaja i znanstvena literatura iz ovog područja, uglavnom opisuju primjenuovog pristupa u navedenim sektorima, dok područje primjene u razvoju poslovnih aplikacija nije dovoljno istraženo. U ovoj disertaciji definiraju se: (1) funkcionalni zahtjevi referentne arhitekture za poslovne aplikacije prema pristupu linija za proizvodnju softvera, (2) implementiraju se artefakti referentne arhitekture,(3) provjerava korisnost (engl.usefulness) referentne arhitekture, te (4) predlažu i provjeravaju nove metrike za mjerenje utjecaja referentne arhitekture na održavljivost linije za proizvodnju softvera. Istraživanje je provedeno kroz primjenu artefakata predložene referentne arhitekture u jednoj financijskoj instituciji. Znanstveni doprinos odnosi se unaprjeđenje referentne arhitekture poslovnih aplikacija prema pristupu linija za proizvodnju softvera s ciljem njihovog jeftinijeg i bržeg razvoja i održavanja, te povećanja njihove kvalitete.Za mjerenje kvalitete poslovnih aplikacija razvijen je i potvrđen novi model i metrikeza ocjenu održavljivosti linije za proizvodnju softveraza poslovne primjene.A software product lines as a planned approach to reuse in software development, has been successfully applied in business domains such as mobile phones, home electronics, automobile industry, shipbuilding, airline industry, military industry, medical equipment,etc. The use of this approach is not limited to those industries, but it could also be applied to the software development in general, including the development of business applications, which is not usual. Case studies and scientific literature in this area, mainly describe the use of this approach in mentioned domains, while the area of the business applications development has not been addressed enough. This dissertation defines: (1) functional requirements of reference architecture for business applications based on software product lines approach, (2) implementation of the reference architecture artifacts, (3) evaluate the usefulness of the reference architecture, and (4) propose and validate novel metrics to measure the impact of reference architecture on software product lines maintainability.The research wasdone usingthe proposed reference architecture artifacts in a financial institution. The scientific contributionis related to the improvement of reference architecture for business applications based on software product lines approach,with the goalto decrease cost and time of their development and maintenance, and increase the irquality. To measure the qualityof business application swe have developed and validated a new modeland metrics for assessing the maintainability of the software product line for business applications