Identifying Collaborative Aspects During Software Product Lines Scoping

Abstract

The software product line engineering (SPLE) is a reuse strategy that allows software companies to save effort when they develop products with common features. There, the software product line scoping is one of most essential and complex activities because (1) a correct scope for the line has a high impact in its success and (2) it implies an interdisciplinary activity involving stakeholders with different visions about the products. In this paper, we report an exploratory study aimed to identify problems related to the collaborative work at scoping SPL in practice. We studied problems related to the participation and interaction of stakeholders in projects where groups of students must develop SPLs of serious video games for training employees in a company. Our study revealed problems related to low levels of communication, participants with different project objectives and stakeholders requesting different types of programs. Problems that are exacerbated by the staff rotation and inconveniences scheduling working sessions. In addition, our study revealed other problems regarding developers misunderstandings the artifacts related to the scope and their use in the further development activities. In this paper, we also present the first version of a collaborative method for SPL scoping, which seeks to combine scoping practices with collaborative patterns and thinkLets, with this combination we seek the effective participation of the required roles in this activity.