Every organization of any size has developed applications that have characteristics in common. Through informal means, many of these applications share common components, infrastructures, or processes. Product lines provide a way of formalizing the manner in which these applications are managed in an organization. The goal of a product line oriented organization is to maximize the benefits that come from managing groups of applications together. Reuse in a product line is a byproduct of the structure of the organization. Reducing development, quality assurance, and maintenance costs and getting products to market faster are the real benefits of product lines. |