First International Workshop on Variability in Software Architecture (VARSA 2011)

Abstract

Variability is the ability of a software artifact to be changed for a specific context. Mechanisms to accommodate variability include software product lines, configuration wizards and tools in commercial software, configuration interfaces of software components, or the dynamic runtime composition of web services. Variability is primarily reflected in and facilitated through the software architecture. Also, the software architecture is the centerpiece of software systems and acts as reference point for many development activities, and many of today's software systems are built to accommodate variability. Thus, variability in software architecture should be well-understood and be treated as a first-class concern. The software architecture community acknowledges that variability is a concern of different stakeholders, and in turn affects other concerns. Nevertheless, treating variability related to the architecture and all architecture aspects, as a cross-cutting concern, is currently not well understood. Therefore, VARSA 2011 aims at identifying critical challenges and progressing the state-of-the-art on variability in software architecture.