Empirical research in software product line engineering

Empirical evaluation has for many years been utilised to validate theories in other science disciplines. One of the first well-known reported examples of empirical evaluation occurred when Galileo wanted to prove that the rate of descent of objects was independent of their mass. This would disprove a theory put forward by Aristotle that the rate of descent is directly proportional to their weight. To prove his theory Galileo dropped two balls made from the same material but different masses from the top of the Tower of Pisa. When the experiment was performed Galileo's theory was proved correct through the empirical evidence collected. What this story demonstrates is the importance of empirical validation to verify or disprove theories and hypotheses. The purpose of this chapter is to emphasise the importance and difficulties of empirical evaluation in the domain of SPLE.