Validating Emergent Behaviors in Systems-of-Systems through Model Transformations

International audienceSystems-of-Systems (SoS) are formed by independent systems termed as constituents. SoS exhibit dynamic properties called emergent behaviors, which are a global functionality that appears as a result of the interoperability among constituents. However,software architecture descriptions of SoS are often static. In turn, dynamic models such as simulation models (also adopted to specify SoS) do not use to preserve software architecture details, which can hamper the software quality. In this paper, we propose a modeltransformation approach to harmonize software architecture descriptions of SoS and simulation models to support validation ofemergent behaviors. We model a software architecture of SoS by the adoption of SosADL, a novel architectural description language(ADL) for SoS, and transform it to DEVS, a formalism for simulation of SoS. Our approach offers a dynamic view to architectural descriptions of SoS, preserving the architectural integrity of the SoS, and supporting the visualization and validation of emergent behaviors. We evaluate our proposal through a case study conducted within the context of a real SoS in operation for flood monitoring in an urban area. Preliminary results show that the transformation is feasible, generating functional simulation models that support the validation of emergent behaviors