A quantitative model of the value of architecture in product line adoption

Product line adoption is a key issue in product line development, as the right adoption approach is central to the overall success of product line development. Thus, this is a strongly discussed area of product line engineering. While so far, guidelines and experiences on the best approach to product line adoption have been presented, no detailed quantitative model was provided. In this paper we present a quantitative model of the product line adoption problem. From this model we deduce general guidelines for product line adoption, particularly highlighting the role of the architecture in the cost-effective adoption of a product line.