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Feature Modeling: Managing Variability in Complex Systems

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Book cover Complex Systems in Knowledge-based Environments: Theory, Models and Applications

Part of the book series: Studies in Computational Intelligence ((SCI,volume 168))

Abstract

Complex systems offering a rich set of features to their users often cause a serious challenge to their developers: how to provide high flexibility with many possible variants for different application contexts and at the same time restrict the systems’ configurability in order to achieve maintainability and controlled evolution? Feature modeling offers an important contribution to solving this problem by capturing and visualizing commonalities and dependencies between features and between the components providing feature implementations. Since more than a decade, feature models have frequently been used in the area of technical systems and as an element of software product line implementations. This chapter introduces feature model fundamentals, an approach to feature model development and ways of integration into the system development process. Application examples are taken from the field of automotive systems.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Engineering, Jönköping University, P.O. Box 1026, SE-55111, Jönköping, Sweden

    Christer Thörn & Kurt Sandkuhl

Authors
  1. Christer Thörn
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  2. Kurt Sandkuhl
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA, USA

    Andreas Tolk

  2. University of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia

    Lakhmi C. Jain

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© 2009 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Thörn, C., Sandkuhl, K. (2009). Feature Modeling: Managing Variability in Complex Systems. In: Tolk, A., Jain, L.C. (eds) Complex Systems in Knowledge-based Environments: Theory, Models and Applications. Studies in Computational Intelligence, vol 168. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-88075-2_6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-88075-2_6

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-540-88074-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-540-88075-2

  • eBook Packages: EngineeringEngineering (R0)

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