Detecting variability in MATLAB/Simulink models : an industry-inspired technique and its evaluation

Model-based languages such as MATLAB/Simulink play an essential role in the model-driven development of software systems. To comply with new requirements, it is common practice to create new variants by copying existing systems and modifying them. Commonly referred to as clone-and-own, severe problems arise in the long-run when no dedicated variability management is installed. To allow for a documented and structured reuse of systems, their variability information needs to be reverse-engineered. In this paper, we propose an advanced comparison procedure, the Matching Window Technique, and a customizable metric. Both allow us to overcome structural alterations commonly performed during clone-and-own. We analyze related MATLAB/Simulink models and determine, classify and represent their variability information in an understandable way. With our technique, we assist model engineers in maintaining and evolving existing variants. We provide three feasibility studies with real-world models from the automotive domain and show our technique to be fast and precise. Furthermore, we perform semi-structured interviews with domain experts to assess the potential applicability of our technique in practice.