Software process line as an approach to support software process reuse: A systematic literature review

Context:Software Process Line (SPrL) aims at providing a systematic reuse technique to support reuse experiences and knowledge in the definition of software processes for new projects thus contributing to reduce effort and costs and to achieve improvements in quality. Although the research body in SPrL is expanding, it is still an immature area with results offering an overall view scattered with no consensus. Objective: The goal of this work is to identify existing approaches for developing, using, managing and visualizing the evolution of SPrLs and to characterize their support, especially during the development of reusable process family artefacts, including an overview of existing SPrL supporting tools in their multiple stages; to analyse variability management and component-based aspects in SPrL; and, finally, to list practical examples and conducted evaluations. This research aims at reaching a broader and more consistent view of the research area and to provide perspectives and gaps for future research. Method: We performed a systematic literature review according to well-established guidelines set. We used tools to partially support the process, which relies on a six-member research team. Results: We report on 49 primary studies that deal mostly with conceptual or theoretical proposals and the domain engineering stage. Years 2014, 2015, and 2018 yielded the largest number of articles. This can indicate SPrL as a recent research theme and one that attracts ever-increasing interest. Conclusion: Although this research area is growing, there is still a lack of practical experiences and approaches for actual applications or project-specific process derivations and decision-making support. The concept of an integrated reuse infrastructure is less discussed and explored; and the development of integrated tools to support all reuse stages is not fully addressed. Other topics for future research are discussed throughout the paper with gaps pointed as opportunities for improvements in the area.