Feature interaction problem: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 07:25, 3 July 2009

Revision as of 18:12, 20 July 2009

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'''Feature interaction''' occurs when the integration of two ''features'' would modify the ''behaviors'' of one or both features.

The term ''feature'' is used to denote ana unit of functionality. Similar to many concepts in computer science, the term can be used at different levels of abstraction. For example, the plain old telephone service (POTS) is a telephony feature at one level, but itself is composed of originating features and terminating features. The originating features may in turn include the provide dial tone feature, digit collection feature and so on.

This definition of ''feature interaction'' allows one to focus on certain behavior of the interacting features such as how their response time may be changed given the integration. Many researchers in the field consider problems that arise due to change in the execution ''behavior'' of the interacting features. Under that context, the ''behavior'' of a feature is defined by its execution flow and output for a given input. In other words, the interaction changes the execution flow and output of the interacting features for a given input.