Iterative multi-scale modeling of software-intensive systems of systems architectures

Abstract

Modeling correct software-intensive Systems of Systems architectures is a challenging research direction that can be mastered by providing modeling abstractions. For this purpose, we provide an iterative modeling solution for a multi-scale description of software architectures. We provide a visual notation extending the graphical UML notations to represent structural as well as behavioral features of software architectures. We define a step-wise iterative process from a coarse-grain to a fine-grain description. The intermediate iterations provide a description with a given abstraction that allow the validation to be conducted significantly while remaining tractable w.r.t. complexity. The iterative process involves both system-independent structural features ensuring the model correctness, and system-specific features related to the expected behavior of the modeled domain. We apply our approach for a methodological design of an Emergency Response and Crisis Management System (ERCMS).