About

Identifying and managing variability in configurable systems is a challenging endeavor. Extracting features, constraints, variability models, and reusable artifacts from legacy systems requires advanced reverse engineering techniques, as implementations for variant management in such system are manifold. In addition, like software in general, configurable systems are subject to frequent changes. Not only, do these changes introduce evolution as a second problem dimension in addition to variability, they subsequently make identifying and maintaining variability harder. Traditionally, the methods and tools applied for revision control and variant management are radically different and mutually disjoint. However, research has already suggested that evolution and variability can be tackled holistically. Concrete examples of integrating approaches include uniform or unified versioning, delta-orientation, evolution-aware clone-and-own, projectional SPL editing, and variation control systems.

Re:Volution (the 1st International Workshop on Reverse Variability Engineering and Evolution of Software-Intensive Systems) joins the motivations originating from REVE and VariVolution and aims to bring together active researchers eliciting software variability and studying its evolution from different angles and practitioners who encounter these phenomena in real-world applications and systems. The workshop offers a platform for exchanging novel ideas, case studies, and tools and fosters future research collaborations and synergies.

Topics and Goals

ReVolution'24 welcomes contributions on any of the following (non-exhaustive) list of topics:

• Techniques on feature and constraint identification and feature model synthesis

• Extraction of reusable components and clone detection

• Metrics, measurements, and visualization techniques during product-line migration

• Tacit knowledge and collaboration in product-line migration

• Product line architecture reengineering

• Refactoring theories and techniques for product-line engineering

• Mining variability in space and time from software repositories

• Conceptual approaches and technical solutions towards uniform, i.e., chronological and logical versioning

• Variation control systems

• Concepts enabling software product line modernization

• Evolution problems concerning specific variability mechanisms (e.g., delta-oriented, annotation-based)

• Variability- and evolution-friendly software development processes (e.g., reactive, incremental, agile)

• Investigation and classification of real-world problems caused by a combination of variability and evolution

• Case studies, benchmarks, industrial challenges, and lessons learned

• Tools implementing previously listed concepts

The workshop serves as a highly interactive platform for exchange, which is reflected by a diversity of submission formats ranging from original research papers over position papers to informal tool demonstrations or fully interactive sessions. The expected audience is not confined to the SPLC community; rather, we also welcome variability-relevant contributions from evolution-related fields such as software configuration management or software maintenance.

Program

ReVolution 2024 will be held as a workshop at SPLC 2024.

• TBA

Accepted Papers

• TBA

How to Submit

Important Dates

The important dates for the workshop are aligned with the general workshop due dates of SPLC:

• Workshop abstract submission (new): June 09, 2024 (23h59, AoE)

• Workshop paper submission (new): June 12, 2024 (23h59, AoE)

• Workshop  paper notification: June 28, 2024

• Final version of papers: July 10, 2024

• Workshops: September 2-3, 2024

All these times are AoE.

Submission Guidelines

The workshop seeks submissions of different types and degrees of maturity in order to be inclusive of both researchers and practitioners and provide a lively platform for discussion also for early concepts and ideas.

Submissions must follow the ACM Master Article Template: https://www.acm.org/publications/proceedings-template

Latex users are indicated to use the “sigconf” option, so they are recommended to use the template that can be found in “sample-sigconf.tex”. In this way, the following code can be placed at the start of the latex document:

\documentclass[sigconf,review]{acmart}

\acmConference[SPLC’24]{28th ACM International Systems and Software Product Lines Conference}{September 2 - 6, 2024}{Luxembourg}

Submissions need to be sent using EasyChair: https://easychair.org/conferences/submission_new?a=32348414 (Track:ReVolution 2024)

Paper Categories (Maturity of Presented Work)

The workshop welcomes submissions at different levels of maturity. Make sure that you select the correct category on the submission page. Papers should range from 4 to 8 pages, with at most 2 more pages only for references (i.e., 4-8 +2).

• Full papers: Papers containing original work and research results. Full papers should at least present a preliminary evaluation of the contributed results. Accepted papers will be published in Volume 2 of the official SPLC proceedings.

• Short papers: Papers describing ongoing work and research. Accepted papers will be published in Volume 2 of the official SPLC proceedings.

• Position papers: Papers of up to one page which present an arguable opinion on a relevant topic. Accepted contributions will be presented and discussed at the workshop but will not be published in the official proceedings.

• Industrial Challenges and Lessons Learnt (ICLL) papers: This type of contribution explicitly targets industry. A dedicated workshop session is reserved for presentations of industrial challenges and lessons learnt, both connected with variability and evolution. The aim of this session is to make academic researchers aware of real-world problems. Accepted presentations will not be published in the proceedings. For submission, we expect a one-page abstract.

• Tool demos: Informal tool demos shall be submitted through a one page abstract of the planned demonstration which will not be published in the official proceedings. The submission may include links to supplementary online material such as downloadable software and/or tool screencasts.

Review Process

Full and short papers will be peer-reviewed by at least three program committee members. Position papers, ICLL papers, and tool demos will not be peer-reviewed; the workshop organizers decide whether they are accepted or not, primarily based on their potential to stimulate interesting discussions. All accepted submissions, regardless of their level of maturity, will be given a presentation slot at the workshop.

The workshop follows a single-blind review process.

Committees

Organizing Committee

• Sebastian Krieter (Paderborn University, Germany)

• Sandra Greiner (University of Southern Denmark, Denmark)

• Wesley K. G. Assunção (North Carolina State University, USA)

• Roberto E. Lopez-Herrejon (École de Technologie Supérieure, Canada)

Program Committee

• Inmaculada Ayala (Universidad de Málaga, ES)

• Hafiyyan Sayyid Fadhlillah (Johannes Kepler University, AT)

• Jessie Galasso-Carbonnel (University of Montréal, CA) 

• Barbara Gallina (Mälardalen University, SE )

• Elias Kuiter (University of Magdeburg, DE)

• Luciano Marchezan de Paula (Johannes Kepler University, AT)

• Jabier Martinez (Tecnalia, FR)

• Mohammad Reza Mousavi (Kings College London, GB)

• Uwe Ryssel (Parametric Technology GmbH, DE)

• Alexander Schultheiss (Paderborn University, Germany, DE)

• Silvia Regina Vergilio (Universidade Federal do Paraná - UFPR, BR)

Steering Committee

• Mathieu Acher, (Irisa, Inria and University of Rennes 1, Rennes, FR)

• Tewfik Ziadi, (Sorbonne University, UPMC Univ Paris 06, CNRS, Paris, FR)

• Timo Kehrer (University of Bern, CH)

• Thorsten Berger (Ruhr-Universität Bochum, DE)

Previous Edition

• VariVolution 2023

• REVE 2022

Contact

For further questions about the workshop, feel free to contact the workshop organizers:

Sebastian Krieter, Sandra Greiner, Wesley K. G. Assunção, Roberto E. Lopez-Herrejon

Image credit: Flickr/Derrick Brutel (CC BY-SA 2.0)