Software engineering of self-adaptive systems

Abstract

Modern software systems are expected to operate under uncertain conditions, without interruption. Possible causes of uncertainties include changes in the operational environment, dynamics in the availability of resources, and variations of user goals. The aim of self-adaptation is to let the system collect additional data about the uncertainties during operation. The system uses the additional data to resolve uncertainties, to reason about itself, and based on its goals to reconfigure or adjust itself to satisfy the changing conditions, or if necessary to degrade gracefully. In this chapter, we provide a particular perspective on the evolution of the field of self-adaptation in six waves. These waves put complementary aspects of engineering self-adaptive systems in focus that synergistically have contributed to the current knowledge in the field. From the presented perspective on the field, we outline a number of challenges for future research in self-adaptation, both in a short and long term.