Challenges of Establishing a Software Product Line for an Aerospace Engine Monitoring System

The introduction of a software product line may pose a great organizational challenge in the domain of high- integrity systems. Project and technical managers within an organization need to be assured that the reusable assets of a product line are reliable and trustworthy, particularly when project teams do not have full control over the development of these assets. In this paper we report on our experience with the establishment of a software product line for an aerospace Engine Monitoring Unit (EMU). Specifically, we report on challenges encountered with the configuration management and certification of EMU products derived from the product line. These two areas are still to be addressed adequately by the product line community as they are central for the management of product line assets across different projects within an organization.