Variability management in software product lines : an investigation of contemporary industrial challenges

Variability management is critical for achieving the large scale reuse promised by the software product line paradigm. It has been studied for almost 20 years. We assert that it is important to explore how well the body of knowledge of variability management solves the challenges faced by industrial practitioners, and what are the remaining and (or) emerging challenges. To gain such understanding of the challenges of variability management faced by practitioners, we have conducted an empirical study using focus group as data collection method. The results of the study highlight several technical challenges that are often faced by practitioners in their daily practices. Different from previous studies, the results also reveal and shed light on several non-technical challenges that were almost neglected by existing research.