Feature model to product architectures: Applying MDE to Software Product Lines

A Software Product Line (SPL) is a portfolio of products that targets a particular domain. Feature Models are generally used for modeling domain knowledge including variability within SPLs. The Product Line Architecture (PLA) defines the structure that all potential products in the SPL share. Designing a good PLA is challenging since different products may require different characteristics, and it is difficult to achieve an acceptable trade-off. In this paper we apply Model-Driven Engineering techniques for systematizing the Domain Engineering stage to enable the automation of the Application Engineering stage. We use features to modularize architectural decisions and we encode them as model transformations that render the fragment of the product architecture that addresses the features. Then, we make the rationale explicit, and we enhance evolvability and incrementality diminishing design complexity. Product implementation is derived by means of generators analogously. We show our approach by developing a Meshing Tool SPL.