Towards a generic framework for model-driven engineering of software process lines

Abstract

Situational Method Engineering (SME) approaches help construct bespoke software development processes according to the specifications of the project at hand, but they are time-consuming and costly. A Software Process Line (SPrL) tackles this problem by allowing software processes to be constructed for specific project situations through reusing core process assets. Model-Driven Development (MDD) has been used for automating SPrL Engineering (SPrLE); however, existing model-driven SPrLE methods are deficient as to their coverage of key MDD features. We propose a novel model-driven SPrLE approach that aims to address these shortcomings; it can be regarded as a framework that specifies the model chain and the core model-driven SPrLE activities that should be applied. The approach is yet to be refined and evolved through application to a real-world project; however, a preliminary criteria-based evaluation has shown that the shortcomings of existing SPrLE methods have indeed been addressed by the proposed approach.