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IRatePL2C: Importance Rating-based Approach for Product Lines Collaborative Configuration

Sihem Ben Sassi

TL;DR

The paper tackles conflict resolution in collaborative product-line configuration, where multiple stakeholders express desired and undesired features. It introduces IRatePL2C, an importance-degree based approach that merges stakeholders' explicit choices, then iteratively resolves explicit conflicts, implicit XOR conflicts, and domain constraints, guided by importance rankings. The method achieves a polynomial-time solution by avoiding exponential search and provides a final valid configuration or defers to a product manager when necessary. Empirical illustration on a Web portal model demonstrates the workflow and discusses stakeholder satisfaction, highlighting practical scalability and the trade-offs in stakeholder fulfillment. Overall, IRatePL2C contributes a scalable, preference-aware framework for collaborative configuration with clear steps and conflict-resolution semantics.

Abstract

Some of them proposed an approach in which involved stakeholders can freely configure the product line without being constrained by the choices made the other ones. The core of any proposed approach in this context focuses on how conflictual situations are resolved. Few works consider stakeholders preferences in their resolution process. However, to generate a valid solution satisfying all constraints, they generally rely on a process of exponential complexity. In this work, we propose the IRatePL2C approach, which resolution strategy relies on importance degrees assigned by the stakeholders to their initial configuration choices. IRatePL2C starts by merging stakeholders' configurations and then detecting and resolving the conflicts according to their type: explicit or implicit in sequential steps. Finally, domain constraints are propagated and the process is reiterated to reach a final valid configuration. An illustrative example is presented to evaluate the approach. The complexity of IRatePL2C is polynomial which an important advantage compared with previous works.

IRatePL2C: Importance Rating-based Approach for Product Lines Collaborative Configuration

TL;DR

The paper tackles conflict resolution in collaborative product-line configuration, where multiple stakeholders express desired and undesired features. It introduces IRatePL2C, an importance-degree based approach that merges stakeholders' explicit choices, then iteratively resolves explicit conflicts, implicit XOR conflicts, and domain constraints, guided by importance rankings. The method achieves a polynomial-time solution by avoiding exponential search and provides a final valid configuration or defers to a product manager when necessary. Empirical illustration on a Web portal model demonstrates the workflow and discusses stakeholder satisfaction, highlighting practical scalability and the trade-offs in stakeholder fulfillment. Overall, IRatePL2C contributes a scalable, preference-aware framework for collaborative configuration with clear steps and conflict-resolution semantics.

Abstract

Some of them proposed an approach in which involved stakeholders can freely configure the product line without being constrained by the choices made the other ones. The core of any proposed approach in this context focuses on how conflictual situations are resolved. Few works consider stakeholders preferences in their resolution process. However, to generate a valid solution satisfying all constraints, they generally rely on a process of exponential complexity. In this work, we propose the IRatePL2C approach, which resolution strategy relies on importance degrees assigned by the stakeholders to their initial configuration choices. IRatePL2C starts by merging stakeholders' configurations and then detecting and resolving the conflicts according to their type: explicit or implicit in sequential steps. Finally, domain constraints are propagated and the process is reiterated to reach a final valid configuration. An illustrative example is presented to evaluate the approach. The complexity of IRatePL2C is polynomial which an important advantage compared with previous works.
Paper Structure (9 sections, 3 equations, 3 figures, 5 tables)

This paper contains 9 sections, 3 equations, 3 figures, 5 tables.

Table of Contents

  1. INTRODUCTION
  2. THE IRATEPL2C APPROACH
  3. Configurations Merging
  4. Explicit Conflicts Resolution
  5. Implicit Conflicts Resolution
  6. Constraints propagation
  7. ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLE
  8. DISCUSSION
  9. CONCLUSION

Figures (3)

  • Figure 1: The proposed approach process.
  • Figure 2: Extract of a stakeholder's configuration choices.
  • Figure 3: Web Portal Feature Model.