Evolving systems of systems: industrial challenges and research perspectives

An increasing number of software systems today are systems of systems (SoS) comprising decentralized and heterogeneous systems with operational and managerial independence. The evolution of SoS is the rule and not the exception in practice due to frequently changing requirements, technologies, and markets. However, providing adequate support for the evolution of SoS is rather challenging as their behavior often emerges at runtime and is difficult to predict. Hence, SoS must be monitored during simulation and operation to ensure compliance with its requirements. In this position paper, we present challenges for SoS evolution from the domain of industrial automation. We discuss existing approaches supporting SoS evolution and derive research issues. We outline requirements for SoS evolution support and present key capabilities of a flexible monitoring and evolution infrastructure. We conclude with a discussion of research perspectives.