Strong4VM: From variability models to strong transitive dependency and conflict graphs

This paper introduces Strong4VM , a C + + tool that extracts complete graphs of strong transitive dependencies and conflicts from variability models using multi-threaded SAT-based backbone detection. The resulting graphs, exported in standard Pajek format, enable structural analysis with network analysis tools such as Pajek , igraph , Neo4j , and Gephi . Strong4VM has been validated on 5709 real-world models (within a range of 99-35,907 features), generating a total of 3.2 ⋅ 10 7 nodes, 4.8 ⋅ 10 8 require arcs, and 3.1 ⋅ 10 8 exclude edges. The analysis of the synthesized graphs reveals domain-specific architectural patterns that provide practitioners with diagnostic indicators for quality assessment and evolution planning. The tool and the graph dataset are publicly available for reproducible research.