Requirement identification for variability management in a co-simulation environment

Co-simulation is a powerful approach to verify a system design and to support concept decisions early in the automotive development process. Due to the heterogeneous nature of the co-simulation framework there is a lot of potential for variability requiring the systematic handling of it. We identified two main scenarios for variability management techniques in a co-simulation environment. Variability management capabilities can be included in the co-simulation tool itself or provide variability mechanisms to configure the co-simulation externally from a software product line. Depending on the context, one or even both scenarios can be applied. This work addresses different types of variability in an independent co-simulation framework (ICOS) and defines requirements for a realization concept.