Software Product Line Architectures: Reviewing the Literature and Identifying Bad Smells

Abstract: The Software Product Line (SPL) paradigm has proven to be an effective way to achieve large scale reuse in different domains. It takes advantage of common aspects between different products, while also considering product specific features. The architecture plays an important role in SPL engineering, by providing means to better understand and maintain the product-derivation environment. However, it is difficult to evolve such architecture because it is not always clear where and how to refactor. The contribution of this thesis is twofold. First, the current state of the art of software Product Line Architectures (PLAs) is investigated through a systematic mapping study. It provides an overview of the field through the analysis, and categorization of evidence. The study identifies gaps, trends and provides future directions for research. Furthermore, this thesis addresses the phenomenon of architectural bad smells in the context of SPLs. A case study provides an investigation on the implications of such structural properties in a variability-based environment. Prior to the search for smells, the architecture of a sample SPL in the text editor domain is recovered from the source code.