Archample-architectural analysis approach for multiple product line engineering

The increased size and complexity of software systems has led to the notion of multiple software product lines (MPLs) in which products are composed from subproducts in separate software product lines. Thus, it is important to identify the proper architectural decomposition of the MPL with respect to the stakeholders' concerns before large organizational resources are committed to the development. Designing MPL architectures is challenging due to the higher level of abstraction and the integration of different product lines. Different architecture analysis approaches have been introduced, but none of these focuses on the evaluation of MPL architectures. We propose the architecture analysis approach for MPL Engineering (Archample), which has been particularly defined for the analysis of MPL architectures. Archample also introduces architectural viewpoints for modeling and documenting MPL and likewise supporting the analysis of the decomposition of an MPL architecture. The approach has been designed and validated within a real industrial context of Aselsan REHI˙S Group (Aselsan REHI˙S), a leading high-technology company in defense systems development in Turkey. © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.