Reporting on a Decade of Promoting Software Engineering for Systems-of-Systems and Software Ecosystems

Abstract

Systems-of-systems (SoS) have become increasingly complex and frequently used in highly distributed, dynamic, and open environments. SoS refer to evolving software systems in which constituent systems (themselves systems in their own right) cooperatively work to fulfill specific, complex missions, facing Software Engineering researchers and practitioners with substantial challenges. Software ecosystems (SECO) have also become an important research topic, addressing social issues along with technical aspects of software development. SoS and SECO are closely related and naturally distributed in development teams. In both fields, distributed resources aim at reducing cost and reaching new Information Technology markets. Software Engineering-related problems and challenges are amplified and become more critical when SoS and SECO are analyzed together. The 10th IEEE/ACM International Workshop on Software Engineering for Systems-of-Systems and Software Ecosystems (SESoS 2022) celebrates a decade of promoting a forum to exchange ideas and experiences, analyze research and development issues, discuss promising solutions, and propose theoretical foundations for the development and evolution of complex software-intensive systems, inspiring visions for the future of Software Engineering for SoS and SECO, as well as paving the way for a more structured community effort. Based on the community feedback, topics of interest should address systems thinking and complexity of those types of systems. As such, the SESoS community is reflecting on how the different dimensions of those types of systems - technological, organizational, and social - should be addressed in research and practice.