Variability in Software Architecture - Journal of Systems and Software Special Issue

--- CALL FOR PAPERS ---

Special Issue on Variability in Software Architecture
Journal of Systems and Software

http://www.journals.elsevier.com/journal-of-systems-and-software/call-for-papers/special-issue-on-variability-in-software-architecture/

OVERVIEW

Variability is the ability of a software system or artifact to be adapted for specific contexts in a preplanned manner. Many of today's software systems are built with variability in mind, e.g., product lines, self-adaptive systems, or open platforms. As the software architecture is a reference point for all development activities and for achieving quality attributes, variability should be treated as a first-class and cross-cutting concern in software architecture. Even though many systems are subject to variability, variability has mainly been researched in product line architectures, rather than as a concept that affects and is affected by software architecture in general. Product line architectures assume the existence of a product line infrastructure, including related processes. This is rarely the case for many software systems that support variability. The aim of this special issue is to explore variability in software architecture beyond (but not excluding) product lines by providing an overview of the state- of-the art in variability in software architecture and to outline the challenges for future research.

TOPICS

We invite submissions on all aspects of variability in software architecture, including novel and high-quality research related to handling (i.e., identifying, reasoning about, representing, implementing, evolving and managing) variability. All submissions should consider the practical application of the idea through case studies, experiments, empirical validation, or systematic comparisons with other approaches already in practice. Topics of interest include, but are not limited, to:
- Variability in software architecture as a cross-cutting concern beyond product line architectures.
- Architecture viewpoints and views to handle variability.
- The role of variability in architecture knowledge and design decisions.
- Reference architectures for variability-intensive systems.
- Architecture patterns, styles and tactics for variability.
- Consistency, traceability and evolution in the context of variability in software architecture.
- Handling variability from requirements to architectures and throughout the software life cycle.
- Variability in self-adaptive systems and architectures.
- Variability in the architecture of dynamic software product lines.
- Variability in the architecture of large-scale systems and software eco-systems.
- Variability in unprecedented systems, in emerging architecture paradigms (e.g., SOA, REST), and in new and critical domains.
- Variability and quality attributes.
- Design time and runtime variability in software architecture.
- Industrial experiences, best practices, lessons learned, etc. from handling variability in software architecture in specific domains.
- Systematic literature reviews or surveys on topics related to handling variability in software architecture.

DATES

Abstract (email to guest editors, mandatory): October 15, 2012
Deadline for submissions: October 31, 2012
Final notification: March 1, 2013
Publication of issue: Last quarter of 2013

GUEST EDITORS

Matthias Galster, mgalster@ieee.org, University of Groningen, The Netherlands
Paris Avgeriou, paris@cs.rug.nl, University of Groningen, The Netherlands
Danny Weyns, danny.weyns@lnu.se, Linnaeus University, Sweden
Tomi Männistö, tomi.mannisto@aalto.fi, Aalto University, Finland

SUBMISSION INFORMATION

All manuscripts and any supplementary material should be submitted through the Elsevier Editorial System at www.elsevier.com/locate/jss/. Follow the submission instructions given on this site. Please select the article type as "Special Issue: Variability in SW Arch". Abstracts should be emailed to the guest editors before the full manuscript submission deadline. All manuscripts should be compliant with the journal's submission guidelines for special issues. Author guidelines are located at www.elsevier.com/locate/jss/. Manuscripts must not have been published previously or be currently under consideration for publication in any other journal or conference. Significant extensions to substantive papers published in conferences are also welcome, provided that the editors are made aware of the previous publication. Please do not hesitate to contact the guest-editors if you have doubts whether your topic is within the scope of this special issue.