A Systematic Literature Review of Software Product Line Management Tools

Software Product Line (SPL) management is a key activity for software product line engineering. The idea behind SPL management is to focus on artifacts that are shared in order to support software reuse and adaptation. Gains are expected in terms of time to market, consistency across products, costs reduction, better flexibility, and better management of change requirements. In this context, there are many available options of SPL variability management tools. This paper presents and discusses the findings from a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) of SPL management tools. Our research method aimed at analyzing the available literature on SPL management tools and the involved experts in the field. This review provides insights (i) to support companies interested to choose a tool for SPL variability management that best fits their needs; (ii) to point out attributes and requirements relevant to those interested in developing new tools; and (iii) to help the improvement of the tools already available. As a direct result of this SLR, we identify gaps, such as the lack of industrial support during product configuration.