Defects in Product Line Models and How to Identify Them

This chapter is about generic (language-independent) verification criteria of product line models, its identification, formalisation, categorization, implementation with constraint programming techniques and its evaluation on several industrial and academic product line models represented with several languages

Evaluating Company’s Readiness for Adopting Product Line Engineering: a Second Evaluation Round

Product lines have emerged in the software industry as an attractive approach to perform planned reuse of code. Nevertheless, a product line solution is not appropriate in all cases and also requires some conditions to be implemented successfully. The literature offers several contributions regarding the adoption of product lines. However, only a few of them are able to support decision-makers in making informed decisions in favor of or against following this approach. We proposed APPLIES, a framework for evaluating the organization’s motivation and preparation for adopting product lines. This article presents the second version of the APPLIES framework as well as the second iteration of the evaluation of this approach. This evaluation consisted of (i) a workshop with a practitioner who had experience in adopting the product line production approach and; (ii) a review of the content by five product line experts. The results obtained from the evaluation resulted in modifications to the framework content, mainly to simplify the statements and eliminate redundant elements. Also, we detected new functionalities and modifications that we expect to be resolved in the following evaluation iterations. Further evaluations and improvements are needed to mature the framework. Moreover, we expect to incorporate APPLIES into a process that covers the aspects that a company must consider before deciding to adopt this production paradigm

Bridging the Gap Between Product Lines and Systems Engineering: An experience in Variability Management for Automotive Model-based Systems Engineering

International audienceWe present in this paper an experience in modeling a family of parking brake systems, with shared assets and alternative solutions, and relate them to the needs of Renault in terms of variability management. The models are realized using a set of customized tools for model based systems engineering and variability management, based on SysML models. The purpose is to present an industrial context that requires the adoption of a product line approach and of variability modeling techniques, outside of a pure-software domain. At Renault, the interest is in identifying variations and reuse opportunities early in the product development cycle, as well as in preparing vehicle con figuration specifications during the systems engineering process. This would lead to lowering the engineering effort and to higher quality and confidence in carry-over and carry across based solutions. We advocate for a tight integration of variability management with the model based systems engineering approach, which needs to address methodological support, modeling techniques and efficient tools for interactive con figuration, adapted for engineering activities

Recommendation Heuristics for Improving Product Line Configuration Processes

In mass customization industries, such as car manufacturing, configurators play an important role both to interact with customers and in engineering processes. This is particularly true when engineers rely on reuse of assets and product line engineering techniques. Theoretically, product line configuration should be guided by the product line model. However, in the industrial context, the configuration of products from product line models is complex and error prone due to the large number of variables in the models. The configuration activity quickly becomes cumbersome due to the number of decisions needed to get a proper configuration, to the fact that they should be taken in pre-defined order, or the poor response time of configurators when decisions are not appropriate. This chapter presents a collection of recommendation heuristics to improve the interactivity of product line configuration so as to make it scalable to common engineering situations.We describe the principles, benefits and the implementation of each heuristic using constraint programming. The application and usability of the heuristics is demonstrated using a case study from the car industry

Subconjuntos Mínimos de Corrección para explicar características muertas en Modelos de Líneas de Productos. El caso de los Modelos de Características

Aprovechar los beneficios que ofrecen las líneas de productos depende, entre otros aspectos, de la calidad de los modelos que representan cada línea de productos. Una parte de la calidad consiste en asegurar que los Modelos de Líneas de Productos (MLPs) se encuentran libres de defectos. Un tipo de defecto de los MLPs son las características muertas, ellas son elementos reutilizables que no están presente en ningún producto configurado a partir del MLPs. Cuando las características muertas aparecen, quien crea los MLPs necesita herramientas que le permitan identificar por qué se presentan las características muertas y cómo podría corregirse el modelo. Sin embargo, aunque muchos trabajos en la literatura identifican características muertas, pocos explican por qué se originan o lo explican de manera incompleta. En este artículo se propone un nuevo método para explicar por qué se presentan características muertas en un MLP expresado con la notación modelos de características. Nuestra explicación consiste en identificar diferentes subconjuntos de elementos que podrían ser modificados para corregir el modelo cada que se presente una característica muerta. Esta explicación ofrece al modelador información completa sobre cómo corregir el modelo para cada característica muerta encontrada

Evaluating Company’s Readiness for Adopting Product Line Engineering: a Second Evaluation Round

Product lines have emerged in the software industry as an attractive approach to perform planned reuse of code. Nevertheless, a product line solution is not appropriate in all cases and also requires some conditions to be implemented successfully. The literature offers several contributions regarding the adoption of product lines. However, only a few of them are able to support decision-makers in making informed decisions in favor of or against following this approach. We proposed APPLIES, a framework for evaluating the organization’s motivation and preparation for adopting product lines. This article presents the second version of the APPLIES framework as well as the second iteration of the evaluation of this approach. This evaluation consisted of (i) a workshop with a practitioner who had experience in adopting the product line production approach and; (ii) a review of the content by five product line experts. The results obtained from the evaluation resulted in modifications to the framework content, mainly to simplify the statements and eliminate redundant elements. Also, we detected new functionalities and modifications that we expect to be resolved in the following evaluation iterations. Further evaluations and improvements are needed to mature the framework. Moreover, we expect to incorporate APPLIES into a process that covers the aspects that a company must consider before deciding to adopt this production paradigm

REFAS: A PLE Approach for Simulation of Self-Adaptive Systems Requirements

International audienceModel simulation has demonstrated its usefulness in evaluation and decision-making for improving preliminary versions of artefacts before production. Particularly, one of the main goals of simulation is to verify model properties based on data collected from its execution. In this paper, we present the simulation capabilities of our REFAS framework for specifying requirements models for dynamic software products lines and self-adaptive systems. The simulation is controlled by a feedback loop and a reasoning engine that operates on the functional and non-functional requirements. The paper contribution is threefold. First, REFAS allows developers to evaluate and improve requirements models through their simulation capabilities. Second, REFAS provides rich feedback in its interactive simulations for the human modeller to make informed decisions to improve her model. Third, REFAS automates the generation of simulation scenarios required to verify the model adequacy and correctness. We evaluate our contribution by comparing the application of REFAS to a case study used in other approaches

Geometrical verification based on a laser triangulation system in industrial environment. Effect of the image noise in the measurement results

The use of laser triangulation systems is widely spread in industrial applications, especially in industrial metrology. These applications are usually affected by external perturbations, in particular, image noise and reflections can be an important error source for these kinds of sensors when high precision is required or when the scanning task is developed in an industrial environment. This research is focused in the improvement of the behavior of a laser triangulation sensor working with high noise images. The aim of the image analysis technique is to avoid or reduce the effect of the background noise on the measurement results (flatness). The analysis technique is tested with images captured in the industrial environment of the measurement system. The results show a proper behavior of the algorithm with high noise component images and the feasibility of the technique for use in the inspection of 100% of the production

“Radiografía” del estado de la reutilización de software en Colombia

Due to competitive markets, the software business wants faster, better, and cheaper solutions in a short amount of time. Software reuse emerges as a viable solution to these demands since it offers significant benefits, such as increased quality and efficiency and lower development costs and effort, as well as shorter commercialization times. This research aims to study and understand the state of the practice of software reuse in Colombia, to make comparisons with related works, and to offer an instrument for decision-making in companies that adopt these practices. To reach these objectives, three stages were proposed. In the first stage, the research questions were defined. In the second stage, a survey was developed, evaluated, and carried out to validate successful practices and adoption barriers in the context of the Colombian software industry. Finally, the results were analyzed and reported. This paper showed and evidenced the expectations, adoption barriers, and factors influencing the success of software reuse in Colombian industrial environments. In the same way, the experience from the development of this work serves as a roadmap for other regions that want to analyze the current state of reuse. Nevertheless, each organization needs to determine its capabilities and find the appropriate factors to be adopted to its context.Debido a los mercados competitivos, el negocio del software quiere soluciones más rápidas, mejores y más baratas en un período corto de tiempo. La reutilización de software surge como una solución viable para estas demandas, ya que ofrece importantes beneficios, como mayor calidad y eficiencia, menores costos y esfuerzos de desarrollo y menor tiempo de comercialización. Este artículo pretende analizar el estado de la práctica de la reutilización de software en Colombia, realizar comparaciones con trabajos relacionados y ofrecer con este resultado un instrumento para la toma de decisiones en empresas que adoptan estas prácticas. Para llevar a cabo los objetivos anteriores se plantearon tres etapas. En la primera etapa se definieron las preguntas de investigación. En la segunda etapa se desarrolló, evaluó y realizó una encuesta para validar prácticas exitosas y barreras de adopción en el contexto de la industria de software colombiana. Finalmente, los resultados fueron analizados y reportados. El estudio mostró y evidenció las expectativas, barreras de adopción y factores que influyen en el éxito de la reutilización de software en entornos industriales en Colombia. El presente estudio muestra el estado actual de las prácticas de reutilización en la industria de software en Colombia. Asimismo, la experiencia en el desarrollo de este trabajo sirve como hoja de ruta para otras regiones que quieran analizar el estado actual de la reutilización. Sin embargo, cada organización necesita determinar sus capacidades y encontrar los factores adecuados para adaptarlos a su contexto

OntoCaimer: Hacia un modelo ontológico de apoyo al cuidado de pacientes con enfermedad de Alzheimer

La Organización Mundial de la Salud declaró en el 2021 al Alzheimer y su cuidado como prioridad de salud pública a nivel mundial debido a su complejidad y desarrollo, que afecta al paciente y su cuidador. Los síntomas del Alzheimer empeoran día a día, por lo que el paciente debe tener un cuidado 24/7; entre las responsabilidades, el cuidador debe lidiar con arduas tareas, desde bañar al paciente hasta manejar sus síntomas comportamentales. A pesar de la profusa información acerca del Alzheimer y su cuidado, no se cuenta con una fuente concisa de información que permita desarrollar sistemas integrados que soporten el cuidado de pacientes con Alzheimer. En este artículo se presenta OntoCaimer, una ontología que sintetiza las recomendaciones y acciones preventivas para la gran mayoría de los síntomas de las diferentes etapas del Alzheimer, asimismo, OntoCaimer integra conceptos relacionados con sensores, actuadores y medición, haciendo posible su uso como base para el desarrollo de sistemas que apoyen el cuidado de los pacientes, de manera digital –a través de alertas–, o con el uso de actuadores, todo con el fin de dar soporte al cuidado de los pacientes. OntoCaimer permite automatizar un grupo de variables asociadas a las recomendaciones o acciones preventivas como el: peso, ambiente, horarios de alimentación, entre otros, lo que permitiría apoyar el cuidado del paciente, disminuir las tareas del cuidador y servir como base de conocimiento para la comunidad científica y el desarrollo de sistemas que implementen sistemas electrónicos o simulaciones antes de su implementación