Configuration of multi product lines by bridging heterogeneous variability modeling approaches

In industrial settings, products are rarely built by one organization alone. Software vendors and suppliers typically maintain their own product lines, which can contribute to a larger (multi) product line. The teams involved often use different approaches and tools to manage variability of their systems. It is unrealistic to assume that all participating units can use a standardized and prescribed variability modeling technique. The configuration of products based on several models in different notations and with different semantics is not well supported by existing approaches. In this paper we present an integrative approach that provides a unified perspective to users configuring products in multi product line environments, regardless of the different modeling methods and tools used internally. We also present a technical infrastructure and a prototypic implementation based on Web Services. We show the feasibility of the approach and its implementation by using it with two different variability modeling approaches (i.e., one feature-based and one decision-oriented approach) on an example derived from industrial experience.