Towards managing data variability in multi product lines

Multi product lines (MPLs) are systems consisting of collections of interdependent software product lines (SPLs). The dependencies and interactions among the SPLs cause new challenges in variability management. In the case of a large-scale information system MPL, important issues are raised regarding integration of the databases of the individual SPLs comprising the main system. The aim of this paper is to introduce a method to manage the variability in the data model of such systems. To this end, we first address the problem of developing a universal feature model of the MPL, obtained from integrating the feature models of the individual SPLs, incorporating the data interdependencies among the features. Further, we develop the data model of the MPL using a delta-oriented technique, based on the universal feature model. Our method addresses the problem of possible conflicts among the data model elements of different SPLs and proposes techniques to resolve the conflicts based on data model refinements.