Visualizations for the evolution of Variant-Rich Systems: A systematic mapping study: A systematic mapping study

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dc.contributor.authorMedeiros, Raul
dc.contributor.authorMartinez, Jabier
dc.contributor.authorDíaz, Oscar
dc.contributor.authorFalleri, Jean-Rémy
dc.contributor.institutionSWT
dc.date.issued2023-02
dc.descriptionPublisher Copyright: © 2022 The Author(s)
dc.description.abstractContext: Variant-Rich Systems (VRSs), such as Software Product Lines or variants created through clone & own, aim at reusing existing assets. The long lifespan of families of variants, and the scale of both the code base and the workforce make VRS maintenance and evolution a challenge. Visualization tools are a needed companion. Objective: We aim at mapping the current state of visualization interventions in the area of VRS evolution. We tackle evolution in both functionality and architecture. Three research questions are posed: What sort of analysis is being conducted to assess VRS evolution? (Analysis perspective); What sort of visualizations are displayed? (Visualization perspective); What is the research maturity of the reported interventions? (Maturity perspective). Methods: We performed a systematic mapping study including automated search in digital libraries, expert knowledge, and snowballing. Results: The study reports on 41 visualization approaches to cope with VRS evolution. Analysis wise, feature identification and location is the most popular scenario, followed by variant integration towards a Software Product Line. As for visualization, nodelink diagram visualization is predominant while researchers have come up with a wealth of ingenious visualization approaches. Finally, maturity wise, almost half of the studies are solution proposals. Most of the studies provide proof-of-concept, some of them also include publicly available tools, yet very few face proof-of-value. Conclusions: This study introduces a comparison framework where to frame future studies. It also points out distinct research gaps worth investigating as well as shortcomings in the evidence about relevance and contextual considerations (e.g., scalability).en
dc.description.statusPeer reviewed
dc.format.extent1
dc.format.extent4808770
dc.identifier.citationMedeiros , R , Martinez , J , Díaz , O & Falleri , J-R 2023 , ' Visualizations for the evolution of Variant-Rich Systems: A systematic mapping study : A systematic mapping study ' , Information and Software Technology , vol. 154 , 107084 , pp. 107084 . https://doi.org/10.1016/j.infsof.2022.107084
dc.identifier.doi10.1016/j.infsof.2022.107084
dc.identifier.issn0950-5849
dc.identifier.otherresearchoutputwizard: 11556/1432
dc.identifier.urlhttp://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85140215376&partnerID=8YFLogxK
dc.language.isoeng
dc.relation.ispartofInformation and Software Technology
dc.rightsinfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
dc.subject.keywordsVariant-rich systems
dc.subject.keywordsSoftware product lines
dc.subject.keywordsVisualization
dc.subject.keywordsEvolution
dc.subject.keywordsMaintenance
dc.subject.keywordsMapping study
dc.subject.keywordsVariant-rich systems
dc.subject.keywordsSoftware product lines
dc.subject.keywordsVisualization
dc.subject.keywordsEvolution
dc.subject.keywordsMaintenance
dc.subject.keywordsMapping study
dc.subject.keywordsSoftware
dc.subject.keywordsInformation Systems
dc.subject.keywordsComputer Science Applications
dc.subject.keywordsFunding Info
dc.subject.keywordsThis work is supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science, In-_x000D_ novation and Universities grant number RTI2018-099818-B-I00. Raul_x000D_ Medeiros enjoys a doctoral grant from the Spanish Ministry of Science_x000D_ and Innovation (PRE2019-087324).
dc.subject.keywordsThis work is supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science, In-_x000D_ novation and Universities grant number RTI2018-099818-B-I00. Raul_x000D_ Medeiros enjoys a doctoral grant from the Spanish Ministry of Science_x000D_ and Innovation (PRE2019-087324).
dc.titleVisualizations for the evolution of Variant-Rich Systems: A systematic mapping study: A systematic mapping studyen
dc.typejournal article
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