Variability management (VM) in software product line engineering (SPLE) is introduced as an abstraction that enables the reuse and customization of assets. VM is a complex task involving the identification, representation, and instantiation of variability for specific products, as well as the evolution of variability itself. This work presents a comparison and contrast between existing VM approaches using qualitative meta-synthesis to determine the underlying perspectives, metaphors, and concepts of existing methods. A common frame of reference for the VM was proposed as the result of this analysis. Putting metaphors in the context of the dimensions in which variability occurs and identifying its key concepts provides a better understanding of its management and enables several analyses and evaluation opportunities. Finally, the proposed framework was evaluated using a qualitative study approach. The results of the evaluation phase suggest that the organizations in practice only focus on one dimension. The presented frame of reference will help the organization to cover this gap in practice.

翻译：软件产品线工程中的可变性管理作为一种抽象，实现了资产的复用与定制。可变性管理是一项复杂的任务，涉及特定产品可变性的识别、表示与实例化，以及可变性自身的演进。本文通过定性元综合方法对现有可变性管理方法进行对比分析，以揭示现有方法的内隐视角、隐喻及核心概念。基于此分析，本文提出一个通用的可变性管理参考框架。将隐喻置于可变性发生的维度语境中，并识别其关键概念，有助于深入理解可变性管理，并为后续分析与评估提供多种可能。最终，通过定性研究方法对所提框架进行了评估。评估阶段结果表明，实际中的组织仅关注单一维度。本文提出的参考框架将帮助组织弥补这一实践中的空白。