Requirements for Successful Software Development with Variability: A Case Study

According to state of the art literature, software product lines are an effective way to achieve economies of scale through reusability while coping with the problem of variability in related software systems. Fundamentals of variability management and product lines have been available in the software engineering research field for several decades. Nevertheless, projects to cope with variability in practice tend to fall short of target. The reason for this gap between sound theories and poor practice, common in multiple software engineering subfields, remains unclear. Therefore, an empirical study was conducted in a large-scale software dependent multinational. The results of this case study show a number of factors that impact successful variability practice. These factors can be abstracted into general hypotheses useful for bridging the gap between theory and practice. Based on the sources of discrepancy, this research suggests a practical way to overcome the obstacles on the road towards successful variability management.