Software product line testing – A systematic mapping study

ContextSoftware product lines (SPL) are used in industry to achieve more efficient software development. However, the testing side of SPL is underdeveloped.ObjectiveThis study aims at surveying existing research on SPL testing in order to identify useful approaches and needs for future research.MethodA systematic mapping study is launched to find as much literature as possible, and the 64 papers found are classified with respect to focus, research type and contribution type.ResultsA majority of the papers are of proposal research types (64%). System testing is the largest group with respect to research focus (40%), followed by management (23%). Method contributions are in majority.ConclusionsMore validation and evaluation research is needed to provide a better foundation for SPL testing.