Variability Patterns

Traditionally, in software engineering, development happens for single products. This is a very inefficient approach in cases where groups of products are related. Software product line engineering [1] is about systematically developing families of related products together, as a product line. The products within a product line usually have many things in common, but also significant differences. Managing and implementing these differences can become complex because in realistic product lines, variability abounds, and it is often a cross-cutting concern. Hence, to exploit the benefits of product line engineering, it is important to systematically manage the variability between the products.