Towards Architectural Synthesis of

Systems-of-Systems

Marcelo Benites Gonçalves (ICMC-Brazil)

Flavio Oquendo (IRISA-France),

and Elisa Yumi Nakagawa (ICMC-Brazil)

WDES, September 23 , 2015 – Belo Horizonte, Brazil

Program•Introduction

•SASI: a method to support architectural synthesis of System-of-Systems

•Observational study

•Perspectives of Research

•Conclusions

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INTRODUCTION

System-of-Systems (SoS)A class of systems resulted from the interaction among independent systems that cooperate delivering emergent functionalities and accomplishing a global mission.

• Operational Independence

• Managerial Independence

• Distribution

• Emergent Behavior

• Evolutionary Development

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SoS Software ArchitecturesA structure (or a set of structures) of the SoS:

• Constituent Systems (CSs), their externally visible properties, and the relationships among them

• Encompasses concepts, properties, specifications, and design decisions

• Essential to promote the success and quality of SoS

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MotivationArchitectural construction is a non-trivial activity, even more for complex scenarios of SoS:• Several stakeholders, organizations, and interests

• CSs developed and managed by independent sources

• How to enable the collaboration of heterogeneous CSs

• The design of such architectures is currently performed with ad-hoc processes

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SASI: A METHOD TO ARCHITECTURAL SYNTHESIS OF SYSTEM-OF-SYSTEMS

Essence Language

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Alphas and Work Products (Essence Language)

•Determine the “things to work with” in development processes

•Have “states” to be reached

• The “states” are verified with specific checklists

• In process instances are expressed through work products

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Determine the “things to be done” in development processes

In process instances are encompassed by specific activities

Its well execution is verified through Alpha states to be reached• EX: in the activity space Establishing SoS ASCs the alpha SoS

ASCs must reach the state established

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Activity spaces and Activities (Essence Language)

ProposalSASI: ``SoS Architectural Synthesis“• A method for establishing and managing of architectural

decisions when constructing SoS software architectures• Provides specific activities and work products grounded

on the alphas and activity spaces provided by the SOAR Kernel 1

• It is part of the SOAR general process for constructing SoS software architectures• Represented by using Essence Language• A general process to construct SoS software architectures

• For Acknowledged SoS• A sub-category in which goals, management, resources, and

authority are recognized while the CSs retain their independent management.

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1 Gonçalves, M. B., Oquendo, F., and Nakagawa, E. Y. (2015). A meta-process to constructSoS software architectures.In: Proceedings of the 30th ACM/SIGAPP Symposium onApplied Computing, pages 1411–1416, New York, NY, USA.

SASI

Part of the SOAR general process

• SoS softwarearchitecture is constructed iteratively

• Guides the instantiation of construction processes for SoS software architectures

Based on the state of the art of SoS in conjunction with experts knowledge

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1 http://www.omg.org/spec/Essence/

SASI

Part of the SOAR general process

• SoS softwarearchitecture is constructed iteratively

• Guides the instantiation of construction processes for SoS software architectures

Based on the state of the art of SoS in conjunction with experts knowledge

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1 http://www.omg.org/spec/Essence/

SASI Workflow

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Observational Study• To assess the feasibility of applying SASI to generate method

instances on specific development scenarios

• A team formed by six graduate students from USP external to our research group during the Fall 2015 semester

• The students were concentrated on the identification of SASI elements to conceive a method instance for a particular SoS context

Goals:• To evaluate if SASI can is applicable to different application

domains

• To evaluate if the participants could understand SASI elements and use them as expected by considering a specific context of use (SoS project description)

• To receive insights for SASI enhancement

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Study Conduction

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Results*

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* Complete description available at <http://goo.gl/i5qYYT>

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PERSPECTIVES OF RESEARCH

Future Research Outline1. Development of specialized versions of SOAR

and SASI• Focus on specific application domains (e.g., smart

cities)

2. Develop additional elements to be integrated on SASI (e.g., a consensual quality model for SoS)• With the maturation of standard solutions for SoS,

SASI and other SOAR elements can also evolve enhancing its power of support

3. Extend SASI in order to encompass other SoS subcategories (i.e., virtual, collaborative, and directed)

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ConclusionsAs a method for architectural synthesis, SASI can be applicated to support the architectural synthesis of SoS•Has the adequate level of abstraction to complex

development environments of SoS

•Is the result from an analysis of the state of the art of SoS in conjunction with lessons learned with collaborating experts

•With SOAR general process, SASI is a contribution to the development projects of the new, important class of SoS software systems

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Towards Architectural Synthesis of

Systems-of-Systems

Marcelo Benites Gonçalves (ICMC-Brazil)

Flavio Oquendo (IRISA-France),

and Elisa Yumi Nakagawa (ICMC-Brazil)

WDES, September 23 , 2015 – Belo Horizonte, Brazil