Applying Feature-Oriented Software Development in SaaS Systems: Real Experience, Measurements, and Findings

Authors

  • Oscar Pedreira Universidade da Coruña, Centro de Investigación CITIC, Facultade de Informática, A Coruña, Spain
  • Fernando Silva-Coira Universidade da Coruña, Centro de Investigación CITIC, Facultade de Informática, A Coruña, Spain
  • Ángeles Saavedra Places Universidade da Coruña, Centro de Investigación CITIC, Facultade de Informática, A Coruña, Spain
  • Miguel R. Luaces Universidade da Coruña, Centro de Investigación CITIC, Facultade de Informática, A Coruña, Spain
  • Leticia González Folgueira Enxenio S.L., A Coruña, Spain

Keywords:

feature oriented software development, feature oriented domain analysis, variability management, software as a service, feature model metrics

Abstract

Distributing software as a service (SaaS) has become a major trend for web-based systems. However, this software distribution model poses many challenges. One of them is feature variability, that is, some features of the system may be required by some users, but not by all of them. In addition, variability is more complex than just including or excluding a feature, since different types of relationships may exist between features. The implementation of this variability, and the parametrization and configuration of the system can be complex in this context, so the development process of a SaaS system must adequately address variability management. In this paper we present an experience applying feature oriented software development (FOSD) in the context of SaaS web-based systems development. We present a real experience in the development of a web-based system for managing home care services for dependent people. The article describes the problem of variability management in this domain, and the feature model of the system. Finally, we present an empirical evaluation of the feature model of the system based on data obtained from its real deployment after two years of use. The empirical evaluation was based on state-of-the-art measures for variability management, and revealed relevant insights for software development in this context.

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Author Biographies

Oscar Pedreira, Universidade da Coruña, Centro de Investigación CITIC, Facultade de Informática, A Coruña, Spain

Oscar Pedreira has M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in Computer Science from University of A Coruña, Spain. He is an Associate Professor since 2008 at the same institution. He is a researcher of the Database Laboratory. His research interests include topics in databases (algorithms for similarity search, data structures and algorithms for graph databases, geographic information systems), and in software engineering (process improvement, testing, MDE, and SPL). He has co-authored many articles published in journals and conferences relevant for the research areas mentioned. He has continuously participated in research projects and technology and knowledge transfer projects with different companies.

Fernando Silva-Coira, Universidade da Coruña, Centro de Investigación CITIC, Facultade de Informática, A Coruña, Spain

Fernando Silva-Coira is an Assistant Professor at the Database Lab (LBD) of the Universidade da Coruña (UDC). He received this Ph.D. in Computer Science from the Universidade da Coruña in 2017 for his thesis entitled “Compact Data Structures for Large and Complex Datasets”. His research interests are the design of algorithms and imple-mentation of compact data structures, especially for the representation of geographic data.

Ángeles Saavedra Places, Universidade da Coruña, Centro de Investigación CITIC, Facultade de Informática, A Coruña, Spain

Ángeles Saavedra Places is currently an Associate Professor at the Computer Science Department of the University of A Coruña. She received her PhD in Computer Science in 2003 from the same university. Her research interests are in the areas of Digital Humanities, Web Information Systems, Geographic Information Systems and Software Engineering. For further details about her CV see: http://lbd.udc.es/ShowResearcherinformation.do?id=5

Miguel R. Luaces, Universidade da Coruña, Centro de Investigación CITIC, Facultade de Informática, A Coruña, Spain

Miguel R. Luaces received his M.S. degree in Computer Science from the University of A Coruña (Spain) in 1998 and an European Ph.D in Computer Science from the University of A Coruña (Spain) in 2004. He undertook research in the area of spatial, temporal and spatio-temporal databases at the FernUniversität Hagen (Germany) under the ChoroChronos project funded by the European Union. Today, he is an Assistant Professor at the University of A Coruña, and he is currently a member of the Databases Laboratory of the University of A Coruña where he has been involved successfully in a number of research and development projects. His research interests include Geographic Information Systems, Spatial and Spatio-temporal Databases, Software Engineering, and Web-based Information Systems.

Leticia González Folgueira, Enxenio S.L., A Coruña, Spain

Leticia González Folgueira holds a M.Sc. degree in Computer Science from University of A Coruña since 2008. She has more than 10 years of experience in software development, and she is currently a technical project manager in Enxenio S.L., where she has specialized in SaaS solutions in the social sector. From this experience, her Ph.D. thesis focuses in this domain, addressing the variability and personalization capabilities these applications must provide, as well as the integration of DevOps strategies in SaaS products.

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How to Cite

Oscar Pedreira, Fernando Silva-Coira, Ángeles Saavedra Places, Miguel R. Luaces, & Leticia González Folgueira. (2019). Applying Feature-Oriented Software Development in SaaS Systems: Real Experience, Measurements, and Findings. Journal of Web Engineering, 18(4-6). Retrieved from https://journals.riverpublishers.com/index.php/JWE/article/view/3159

Issue

2019: Vol 18 Iss 4-6

Section

Articles