Software Product Line Engineering for Developing Self-Adaptive Systems: Towards the Domain Requirements

Self-adaptive systems are now facing the anticipation of mass customization. Therefore, the Software Product Line (SPL) engineering for developing Self-Adaptive systems (SPL4SA) can be an effective way. At the first sight, SPL4SA is the straightforward combination of the two methodologies of SPL engineering and self-adaptive systems. However, the direct and unsystematic combination will bring difficulty in the domain requirements analysis and in the customization process. In this paper, in order to give a solution to the practical problems, we propose a domain requirements meta-model in SPL4SA. It is described with different point of views and the variability binding constraints inside are emphasized. Based on it, a guidance is concluded to support the consistent customization towards the domain model. In addition, an experimental study about a web-based business product line involving self-adaptation capability is conducted to evaluate the model.