*** Call for Contributions ***

International Conference on Software and Systems Reuse, Product Lines,
and Configuration (VARIABILITY 2026)

29 September - 2 October 2026, 5* St. Raphael Resort and Marina
Limassol, Cyprus

https://conf.researchr.org/home/variability-2026


The International Conference on Software and Systems Reuse, Product Lines, and
Configuration (VARIABILITY 2026) invites high-quality contributions from researchers and
practitioners in software engineering, systems engineering, and related disciplines
focussing on a broad spectrum of methods, concepts, and tools for variability.
VARIABILITY aims to be the premier forum for the exchange of ideas, experiences, and
results in all aspects of software and systems variability management, reuse, software
configuration, and customization.

As software and systems become increasingly configurable, reusable, and adaptable,
managing their variability across all lifecycle phases is more critical—and more challenging
—than ever. VARIABILITY 2026 seeks to bring together the diverse communities that
address these challenges from theoretical, technical, and practical perspectives.

VARIABILITY results from a merge of three prominent conferences focussing on software
and systems variability, configuration and reuse: SPLC (the International Systems and
Software Product Line Conference, 29 successful editions), VaMoS (the International
Working Conference on Variability Modelling of Software-Intensive Systems, 19 successful
editions), and ICSR (the International Conference on Systems and Software Reuse, 22
successful editions).

VARIABILITY is by design open as a conference. It welcomes new fields of variability-
intensive research, such as artificial intelligence, hybrid software-hardware systems, etc.
For this first edition of VARIABILITY, we strive to continue the success of the predecessor
conferences ICSR, SPLC, and VaMoS by welcoming high-quality submissions for the
research track in numerous closely related areas, such as systems and software product
lines, systems and software reuse, configurable systems and software, product
configuration, and systems and software variability.


Publication of Proceedings

All accepted contributions will be published by Springer in the LNCS series. For more
information, including the submission link, please refer to the conference website.


Topics of Interest

We invite contributions on variability management, reuse, and configuration across all
phases of the software and systems lifecycle. The topics of interest include, but are not
limited to:

Requirements & Domain Engineering
• Domain analysis and variability modeling
• Decision modeling and support
• Customization and personalization specification
• Requirements variability and traceability

Architecture & Design
• Variability-aware software architectures
• Architecture-centric product line engineering
• Model-driven engineering (MDE)
• Multi-product lines, program families, product lines of product lines, software
ecosystems

Implementation & Code Generation
• Generative programming and code synthesis
• Modularization techniques for reusable code
• Programming languages and frameworks for variability
• Open-source strategies for software reuse

Testing, Verification & Quality Assurance
• Testing and analysis of configurable systems
• Safety and security in variable systems
• Formal Methods for Software Product Lines
• Non-functional properties: quality-aware analysis, quality-driven configuration
• Reuse in testing, verification, and quality assurance

Evolution, Maintenance & Operation
• Refactoring and restructuring of configurable systems
• Reverse engineering, variability mining, and refactoring
• Runtime variability and dynamic (software) product lines
• Maintenance strategies for large-scale reused systems
• Variability in DevOps and CI/CD pipelines

AI and Data-Driven Methods
• Machine learning for variability management
• AI-assisted product configuration
• Data and repository mining from product lines and configuration histories
• Recommendation systems for reuse and customization


Tracks and Types of Submission

Research Track
• Full Papers (up to 18 pages excluding references): Research papers must present
original, unpublished work with validated results through empirical evaluation, formal
analysis, or implementation-based experiments. Submissions must clearly articulate the
problem, its relevance, the proposed contribution, and validation results.

• Short Papers (6 - 8 pages excluding references): Short papers present early-stage
research, novel ideas, or conceptual proposals that are not yet fully developed or
validated but offer promising directions. These papers should articulate the vision,
motivation, and potential impact.

For detailed information please refer to the conference website:
https://conf.researchr.org/track/variability-2026/variability-2026-papers#Call-for-Papers

Journal First
To qualify for a Journal-First presentation at VARIABILITY 2026, a paper must meet these
criteria:
• It was published on the publisher’s website between May 2024 and March 2026.
• It fits within the scope of VARIABILITY 2026, as described in the research track call
(https://conf.researchr.org/track/variability-2026/variability-2026-papers#Call-for-Papers),
and can bring new insights or directions to the community.
• It presents new research results or significant extensions of prior work that have not
been presented at SPLC, VaMoS, or ICSR before.
• It has not been presented at, and is not under review for, Journal-First Tracks of other
related conferences.

For detailed information please refer to the conference website:
https://conf.researchr.org/track/variability-2026/variability-2026-journal-first

Project Showcases
We welcome submissions on research projects that address reuse, product lines, and
variable/configurable software systems. This track is not intended for publishing mature
research results. Instead, it focuses on project summaries and overviews, highlighting
goals, structure, challenges, insights, and project level impact.

Examples of suitable submissions include:
• Ongoing projects focusing on goals, challenges, methodology, or early findings
• Recently completed projects summarizing outcomes, evidence, and impact
• Large scale, collaborative, or multi partner efforts, where visibility and networking are
beneficial
• Smaller or emerging projects that would benefit from early feedback and exposure

For detailed information please refer to the conference website:
https://conf.researchr.org/track/variability-2026/variability-2026-project-showcase

Demos and Tools
Submissions must describe either (1) a new tool or prototype; (2) a novel extension to an
existing tool; (3) a practical demonstration of an approach; (4) a new or curated dataset
relevant to variability and reuse; (5) a significant update to a previously published tool or
dataset (include a clear description of new contributions).

Each submission must include:
• A paper of up to 4 pages, including references and figures.
• An optional appendix of up to 2 pages (not included in the proceedings), describing the
planned live demonstration or dataset usage scenario.
• A link to a short video (max. 5 minutes) illustrating the tool, demonstration, or dataset
in action.

For detailed information please refer to the conference website:
https://conf.researchr.org/track/variability-2026/variability-2026-demonstration-and-tools

Doctoral Symposium
The Doctoral Symposium of VARIABILITY 2026 aims to provide a supportive environment
that enables doctoral students to get constructive feedback on their research. Students
will discuss their work with experienced community members and other students. The
event is open to any PhD student whose research topic concerns software variability,
software and systems reuse, product lines, and configuration. This includes PhD students
at early stages of their research (after setting up a research program, but before having
results). Accordingly, we will have two submission categories:
• Late – late-stage PhD students, having at least 6 months of work after the conference
and before their expected completion; and
• Early – early-stage PhD students, with at least 6 months of work already performed
prior to the submission date.

For detailed information please refer to the conference website:
https://conf.researchr.org/track/variability-2026/variability-2026-doctoral-symposium

Industry Track
The Industry Track of VARIABILITY 2026 offers a platform for practitioners, researchers,
and technology leaders to share practical experiences in industrial settings with reuse,
variability management, configuration, and product line engineering across software and
systems. Building on the industrial tracks of SPLC, VaMoS, and ICSR, this track bridges
research and practice by showcasing how variability, reuse, and product line strategies are
being applied and developed in today’s fast-changing industrial environments.

For detailed information please refer to the conference website:
https://conf.researchr.org/track/variability-2026/variability-2026-industry-track

Workshop Proposals
We invite you to submit proposals for half-day or full-day workshops in any area related
to the field of Software and Systems Reuse, Product Lines, and Configuration, all of which
fall under the broader area of Variability. In particular, workshops on challenging,
emerging areas related to the conference topics are especially sought. We particularly
encourage workshop proposals for highly interactive and collaborative workshops, rather
than mini-conferences, e.g., apart from the traditional short and long papers, consider
allowing position papers with only one page (not included in the proceedings) and focus
on a lively discussion after the presentation, to foster new ideas and gather feedback
(rather than just defending the presented work). The expected date of the workshops
will be the September 29th, 2026, before the main track of the conference.

For detailed information please refer to the conference website:
https://conf.researchr.org/track/variability-2026/variability-2026-workshops


Important Dates (AoE)

Research Track
• Paper Submission Deadline: 2 April 2026
• Notification of Acceptance: 1 June 2026
• Camera-Ready Deadline: 15 July 2025
• Author Registration: 15 July 2025

Journal First
• Submission of Papers: 2 April 2026
• Notification of Acceptance: 1 June 2026
• Camera-Ready Submission: 15 July 2026
• Author Registration: 15 July 2026

Project Showcases
• Submission of Papers: 1 June 2026
• Notification of Acceptance: 21 June 2026
• Camera-Ready Submission: 15 July 2026
• Author Registration: 15 July 2026

Demos and Tools
• Submission of Demos and Posters: 1 June 2026
• Notification of Acceptance: 21 June 2026
• Camera-Ready Submission: 15 July 2026
• Author Registration: 15 July 2026

Doctoral Consortium
• Submission of Papers: 6 June 2026
• Notification of Acceptance: 6 July 2026
• Camera-Ready Submission: 15 July 2026
• Author Registration: 15 July 2026

Industry Track
• Submission of Papers: 8 June 2026
• Notification of Acceptance: 8 July 2026
• Camera-Ready Submission: 15 July 2026
• Author Registration: 15 July 2026

Workshop Proposals
• Workshop Proposals: 2 March 2025
• Notification of Acceptance: 16 March 2026
• Workshop Papers Submission: 15 June 2026
• Workshop Papers Notification: 7 July, 2026
• Camera-Ready Version Submission: 14 July, 2026
• Workshop Summary: 14 July, 2026
• Author Registration: 14 July, 2026


Organisation

General Chairs
• George A. Papadopoulos, University of Cyprus, Cyprus
• Gilles Perrouin, FNRS & University of Namur, Belgium

Research Track Chairs
• Thorsten Berger, Ruhr University Bochum, Germany
• Ina Schaefer, KIT, Germany

Industry Track Chairs
• Shaukat Ali, Simula Research Lab and Oslo Metropolitan University, Norway
• Martin Becker, Fraunhofer IESE, Germany

Journal First Track Chairs
• Mathieu Acher, University Rennes, Inria, CNRS, IRISA, France
• Xhevahire Tërnava, LTCI, Télécom Paris, Institut Polytechnique de Paris, France

Doctoral Symposium Track Chairs
• Rick Rabiser, LIT CPS, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria
• Iris Reinhartz-Berger, University of Haifa, Israel

Demos and Tools Track Chairs
• Sandra Greiner, University of Southern Denmark, Denmark
• Leopoldo Teixeira, Federal University of Pernambuco

Projects Showcase Chairs
• Daniel Struber, Chalmers, University of Gothenburg, Radbound University, Sweden
• Dalila Tamzalit, Nantes Université, France

Hall of Fame Chairs
• Martin Becker, Fraunhofer IESE, Germany
• Goetz Botterweck, Lero - The Irish Software Research Centre and University of Limerick, Ireland
• Natsuko Noda, Shibaura Institute of Technology, Japan

Workshops Chairs
• Lidia Fuentes, Universidad de Malaga, Spain
• Malte Lochau, University of Siegen, Germany

Tutorials Chairs
• Loek Cleophas, Eindhoven University of Technology and Stellenbosch University, The Netherlands
• Mahsa Varshosaz, IT University of Copenhagen, Denmark

Proceedings Chair
• Sophie Fortz, King's College London, UK

Publicity Chairs
• Wesley Assunção, North Carolina State University, USA
• Kentaro Yoshimura, Hitachi Ltd, Japan

Local Organiser and Finance Chair
• George A. Papadopoulos, University of Cyprus, Cyprus