A preliminary mapping study of approaches bridging software product lines and service-oriented architectures

Service Oriented Architectures (SOA) and Software Product Lines (SPL) have individually proven to be software engineering concepts that create added value to the development of software systems. Recently, the research community has recognized and investigated potentials for combining these two concepts. However, there have been no mapping study and literature surveys that systematically review the present research results in combining the two. This paper presents results of a preliminary work on a systematic mapping study of research papers that report on combining SOA and SPL. The main goal of a systematic mapping study is to provide a breath overview, classification of approaches and the quantity and type of research as well as available research results, which is complimentary step toward further systematic literature review. This paper, based on selected papers published from 2002 to mid-2010, reports on various aspects of the analyzed literature, including the motivations for combining the two concepts; contributions to specific stages of software engineering lifecycles; types of synergies and characteristics that are accomplished through combinations of the two concepts; and the methods used for and the rigor of the evaluations of the research conducted on the studied topic.