Reference Architecture and Product Line Architecture: A Comparison

Currently, the size and complexity of software systems, as well as critical time to market, demand new approaches from Software Engineering discipline for building such systems. In this context, the use of reference architectures and product line architectures is becoming a common practice. However, both of these concepts are sometimes mistakenly seen as the same thing; it is also not clearly established how they can be explored in a complementary way in order to contribute to software development. In this perspective, this document makes a clear differentiation of these architectures, by highlighting basic questions like definitions, benefits, and motivation for using each one, when and how they should be used, built, and evolved, as well as stakeholders involved and benefited by each one. As a result, a better understanding of both reference architectures and product line architectures can contribute to promote a more effective reuse in the development of software systems.