Variation Management for Software Production Lines

Variation management in a software product line is a multi-dimensional configuration management problem. In addition to the conventional configuration management problem of managing variation over time, software product lines also have the problem of managing variation among the individual products in the domain space. In this paper, we illustrate how to "divide and conquer" the variation management problem into a collection of nine smaller problems and solutions. We also show how to address the nine problems with lightweight solutions that can reduce the risks, costs, and time for establishing and maintaining a software product line.