Variability in software process models: Requirements for adoption in industrial settings

It is an increasing trend to apply Software Product Line (SPL) concepts and techniques for software process tailoring, generating a Software PRocess Line (SPrL). However, there are several aspects that must be addressed before SPrLs can be fully adopted by industry, a key aspect being how software process variability is specified and managed. In the literature, there are several general-purpose as well as domain-specific proposals for specifying process variability. In this paper, we analyze the benefits and drawbacks of two general-purpose (feature models and OVM) and two domain-specific (SPEM variability primitives and vSPEM) approaches, as well as discuss what hinders industry adoption in each case.