@InProceedings{Axenath+2006,
  AUTHOR = {Axenath, Björn and Giese, Holger and Klein, Florian and
  Frank, Ursula},
  TITLE = {{Systematic Requirements-Driven Evaluation and Synthesis of
  Alternative Principle Solutions for Advanced Mechatronic Systems}},
  YEAR = {2006},
  MONTH = {11-15 September},
  BOOKTITLE = {Proc. of the 14th IEEE International Requirements
  Engineering Conference (RE'06), Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota, USA},
  PAGES = {156--165},
  PUBLISHER = {IEEE Computer Science},
  URL =
  {http://www.upb.de/cs/ag-schaefer/Veroeffentlichungen/Quellen/Papers/2006/re06.pdf},
  ABSTRACT = {In advanced mechatronic systems, software was traditionally
  employed late in the development process for costeffectively
  realizing the required control functionality. Today
  however, software has become one of the main drivers
  for innovation, enabling cost-effective variants and online
  reconfiguration. During the development of mechatronic
  systems, different alternative principle solutions are usually
  systematically evaluated w.r.t. physical and economic
  requirements and constraints. We refine this step by performing
  a differentiated analysis factoring in relevant environmental
  influences. For multiple variants of a product
  line, the evaluation results can easily be reused by adjusting
  the weights of individual requirements and the relevance
  of different environmental situations. Taking synergies during
  development and production into account, a set of alternatives
  can then be identified which provides high performance
  at a low cost for the product line. Based on the refined
  analysis, we can furthermore identify combinations of
  alternative solutions that offer a more complete coverage of
  the required operation conditions or a more cost-effective
  solution by performing an online software reconfiguration
  in response to changes in the environment.}
}