Configurability

Definition

Configurability

the quality factor representing the degree to which an application or component is or can be configured into multiple forms (i.e., configurations)

Classification

As illustrated in the preceding figure, Configurability is part of the following inheritance hierarchy:

• Type: Concrete
• Superclass: Quality Factor
• Subclasses:
  • None

Responsibilities

The typical responsibilities of configurability are to:

• Model the degree to which an application or component can be configured into multiple forms
• Support the analysis and specification of configurability requirements.

Subfactors

Configurability is typically decomposed into the following aggregation hierarchy of subfactors:

• Internationalization
• Personalization
• Subsetability
• Variability

Measure

Configurability is typically measured in terms of:

• Internationalization measurements
• Personalization measurements
• Subsetability measurements
• Variability measurements

Mechanisms

Typical mechanisms for implementing configurability include:

• Internationalization mechanisms
• Personalization mechanisms
• Subsetability mechanisms
• Variability mechanisms

Guidelines

The following guidelines have been found to be useful regarding configurability:

• Internationalization guidelines
• Personalization guidelines
• Subsetability guidelines
• Variability guidelines