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software product lines
Making SIMPLE Decisions about Software Product Lines
Some of the most frequently asked questions about software product lines involve whether there will be a cost benefit to using the product-line approach. So researchers from the SEI, Siemens, the Fraunhofer Institute for Experimental Software Engineering, and Clemson University collaborated on a model that can be used to predict software product line costs and benefits under a variety of real-world situations and that can be used easily by product line decision-makers who may not be skilled in intricate economic theories.
SIMPLE is the Structured Intuitive Model of Product Line Economics, a general-purpose business model that supports the estimation of the costs and benefits in a product line development organization. SIMPLE helps in decisions such as whether to use a product line strategy in a specific situation, the specific strategy to apply, and the appropriateness of acquiring or building specific assets.