The key to business success depends on the infusion of new ideas for how products are brought to market. To achieve this goal, today’s software-based product development organizations must deliver a product line—a portfolio of similar products with variations in features and functions—rather than just an individual product. A new approach referred to as software product lines (SPL), or more precisely systems and software product line engineering and delivery, has emerged to enable organizations to develop, deliver and evolve an entire product line portfolio, through each stage of the development lifecycle, with much higher degrees of efficiency than has been possible before.

Companies face complex challenges in creating and maintaining the embedded software needed to support a rapidly expanding product line portfolio. To better address this challenge, the Rational Rhapsody/BigLever Gears Bridge solution is a convergence of the synergistic model-driven development (MDD) and SPL technologies.