A Practical High Volume Software Product Line

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A Practical High Volume Software Product Line

• Peter Bell
• CEO/CTO
• SystemsForge
• ooPLSA 07

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Overview

• What we do
• The problem
• Our approach
• Lessons learned

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What We Do . . .

• Custom web applications
• Small/mid sized businesses
• 10,000 - 50,000
• Content management
• E-commerce
• Document management
• Workflow
• . . .

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The Problems

• Clients dont know
• Elicit requirements
• Clients dont care
• Efficient feature reuse
• Clients DO care
• Build anything, change everything

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Clients Dont Know . . .

• Problem
• Marketing managers/CEOs
• No software experience
• Vague requirements
• Fixed bid/scope/timeframe
• Need
• Quick, flexible approach

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Clients Dont Care . . .

• Problem
• Dont want to specify everything
• Mainly want good enough
• Need
• Reusable best practices
• Efficient fabrication

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Clients DO Care . . .

• Care about some things
• Covers all areas
• Build anything - change everything

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Our Approach

• Software product line
• Specification process
• Feature model
• Decision support
• Domain Specific Languages
• Dynamic framework

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Software Product Lines

• Lots of similar applications
• Framework
• Components
• Configuration
• Extension
• Bounded/Unbounded
• Layered approach

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Specification Process

• Business intent
• Roles/personas
• Essential tasks
• Packages
• Screens/Actions
• IA
• Look and feel

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Feature Modeling

• Commercial products
• purevariants
• Big Lever
• Our approach
• Feature tree
• Essential/optional metadata
• Feature constraints

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Decision Support

• Associating optional metadata
• Decision tree
• Non-technical users

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Domain Specific Languages

• Efficiently encode executable intent
• Everything is a DSL
• Language, API, XML, Data model, etc.
• Flexibility in implementation

When I use a word, it means just what I choose
it to mean
- Humpty Dumpty
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Domain Specific Languages

• Abstract grammar vs. Concrete Syntax
• Projections (storage/editing)
• Edit cms
• Store db
• Publish XML
• Consume Framework/API

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Dynamic Framework

• Powered by parameterization
• Where are the classes?
• Merging DSLs with code
• Inheritance, AOP, mixins (object/class), code
  blocks

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Lessons Learned

• Reuse specs - not code
• Framework vs. code generation
• Evolution is key

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Questions?

• Read the paper )
• Website www.systemsforge.com
• Blog www.pbell.com

Email peter_at_pbell.com - Yahoo freshstartsw -
AIM appgeneration