A taxonomy of context-aware software variability approaches

Modern software systems demand more and more smart capabilities depending on their context of use, as well as the ability to dynamically adapt these capabilities according to sensed context changes. This requires appropriate techniques for modelling, representing and handling context-aware software variability. While traditional variability modelling approaches like feature orientation and software product lines are evolving to address the increased dynamicity and context specificity required for this new generation of software systems, new paradigms such as context-oriented programming have emerged. Although developed independently, since they address similar issues, many similarities exist between these approaches. The purpose of this paper is to define, categorise and compare key concepts shared by these approaches. Such a taxonomy is a first step towards a better understanding of the differences and similarities between different approaches for managing context-aware software variability, and to achieve a cross-fertilisation between them.