Objectives

The research project ExploIT Dynamics engages in observation, modeling, analysis, and design of the dynamic behavior of IT systems in their environment. The main focus lies on the optimization of adaptability (Evolvability) of software-intensive systems to frequently changing environment parameters.

Tasks of this research:

• groundwork for developing and applying of methods and techniques to observe relevant quality parameters of dynamic systems
• demonstration of changed quality parameters during system operation
• change and impact of the system and their environment to optimize it

ExploIT Dynamics combines practical and applied computer science techniques to receive a high quality IT system in changing environments. Thereby, domain independent IT concepts and methods are designed and proved to dominate changing systems and to get high quality system components.

This research project is realized by a consortium of computer scientists which cover the described spectrum and have appropriate expertise to develop efficient and beneficial domain independent concepts and methods into applying domains.

Motivation

The dynamic behavior of the whole system (system and its environment) is described by the time-adjustable behavior and/or its environment. Many reasons for the changing behavior exist:

• hardware components can fail due to aging and wear, and thus they can not attend their tasks
• software components can not work correct when requirements are changed
• software components are changed regularly, such as Google which makes 20 code changes per minute
• topologies of system environments can change by addition or migration of components, such as changing requirements or load distributions
• human system user can change their way of working with the information system, due to the change of exogenous labor standards or use contexts

ExploIT Dynamics Control Cycle

The dynamic system behavior has risks and opportunities: risks will occur, if the system or its environment changes in a way which not guarantee the quality parameters. Therefore, opportunities arise when quality parameters easy to reach by changing system behavior.

Quality parameters are security, trust and confidence, maintainability, scalability, reliability, availability, survivability, performance, accuracy, validity, interoperability, and portability. These quality parameters are needed to reach the quality aims adaptability and development (Evolvability), which summerize the properties of systems for an efficient and effective reaction of internal and external changes.

ExploIT Dynamics aims a development of a general IT techniques and methods to dominate the system behavior. Therefore, the main focus does not lie on considering single domains of a system but on the whole system. Thereby, hardware, software, embedded systems, central systems, distributed systems, federated systems, and heterogeneous systems.

More information are here.