Using decision rules for solving conflicts in extended feature models

Software Product Line Engineering has introduced feature modeling as a domain analysis technique used to represent the variability of software products and decision-making scenarios. We present a model-based transformation approach to solve conflicts among configurations performed by different stakeholders on feature models. We propose the usage of a domain-specific language named CoCo to specify attributes as non-functional properties of features, and to describe business-related decision rules in terms of costs, time, and human resources. These specifications along with the stakeholders’ configurations and the feature model are transformed into a constraint programming problem, on which decision rules are executed to find a non-conflicting set of solution configurations that are aligned to business objectives. We evaluate CoCo’s compositionality and model complexity simplification while using a set of motivating decision scenarios.