Negotiation constellations in reactive product line evolution

Software product lines are inevitably subject to continuous evolution due to changing customer needs, market developments, or technology trends. Reactive evolution means that changes to the product line are driven by the requirements arising when deriving new products. In this process heterogeneous stakeholders need to negotiate about these emerging requirements. It is also crucial that stakeholders develop a shared understanding about the challenges of implementing the new requirements in the product line. Existing approaches to product line evolution do however not sufficiently address these negotiation challenges. The aim of this position paper is thus to identify key stakeholder roles and negotiation constellations for reactive product line evolution. We illustrate these constellations using the WinWin negotiation model and discuss implications for tool support.