Using composite feature models to support agile software product line evolution

Managing continuous change in a Software Product Line (SPL) is one of the challenges now faced by the SPL engineering community. On the one hand, the SPL paradigm captures the intrinsic variability of a software based on a systemic vision of the software to model. On the other hand, Agile Software Development advocates the incremental development of software based on constant interaction with a customer community. In this paper, we present an approach based on Composite Feature Models (CFM) to support the agile evolution of a SPL. This study is driven by the refactoring of a daily used application (information broadcasting system), in the context of a nationally funded project. Preliminary results show that CFMs support the incremental development of a SPL based on interactions with a community, tackling the challenge of SPL continuous evolution.