Managing variability of ERP ecosystems: research issues and solution ideas from Microsoft Dynamics AX

Abstract

Systematic reuse of artifacts and a clear understanding of the variability within a product family are key success concepts within diverse industrial domains. Nevertheless, there are still many open issues regarding adapting and tailoring of software product line engineering approaches to specialized domains. The nature of ERP systems would suggest the application of product line techniques, but the limitations and constraints within this domain makes this a challenging task from the viewpoint of a partner company. In this paper we discuss ERP domain constraints and provide first conceptual solutions on how to adapt and extend software product line techniques for this particular context. Furthermore, we present a first tool prototype to support sales consultants at ERP partner companies.