THEOS

Tecnologías Habilitadoras para EcOsistemas Software

Project Details
Starting date: 01/03/2011
Finishing date: 31/03/2015
Funded by: Consejería Innovación, Ciencia y Empresa, Junta de Andalucía
Funding ID: P10-TIC-5906
Organic: 18.13.03.27.05
Received funds: 260.621 €
Partners: ISOTROL, TELVENT, ATOS, SADESI, CICE, iCINETIC, CAJASOL, PEDREGOSA
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The wide adoption of WEB 2.0 as well as the need to lower developing costs and keep maintaining products, and, above all, to be able to position these products well, are three of the key factors of the growth of interests in software ecosystems. A software ecosystem is made up from a software platform, a team of developers from said software platform, a group of external developers and a community of domain experts that make up relevant solutions to meet the user community’s needs. The size, reach or nature of the ecosystems may be quite different according to each particular case, they may be made around a successful SME product or around the application repository of a public organisation (i.e. developing frameworks of Public Administration) or private (cell phone applications platforms like Apple AppStore or Android Market).

THEOS’ global objective is the face some of the challenges set by the development of software ecosystems, specifically, from those derived from loosing control over the elements that make up the ecosystem and the processes to develop them, because they turn to be managed beyond the organisation’s limits. For example, developing according to CMMi models is harder, just like maintaining the integrity of all of the configurations that can be found in an ecosystem. Also, current management systems for ecosystems are exceedingly manual, which may be acceptable for simple ecosystems but totally inadmissible in complex ecosystems. In this case, the complexity may be determined by the number of elements; the update frequency, the size of the developer’s community, the degree of interactivity of the elements or other factors.

Managing an ecosystem is also necessary both in its developing time and in its execution time. During developing, it is important to control which are the elements that become part of the ecosystem; which traits should the development process follow and which traits should the element itself have. During its execution, it is important for the ecosystem to answer quickly to the changes in government policy and user preference, and for all these different elements to be as well integrated as possible. In this sense, we believe the best approach is a service oriented ecosystem where the different elements are considered as services.

In this project we hope to develop techniques and tools that will allow for the automation of the services-oriented ecosystem management, both in its development and its execution time. This technology will help to develop the services that will be part of the ecosystem, fitting into adequate developing standard frameworks. It will also allow the management of business processes to be implemented by the ecosystem services and manage the ecosystem’s variability. It will also allow an ecosystem platform so all the services selected as part of the solution built to satisfy user’s needs always operate within the existing ruling policies.

That these problems being addressed are new and try to meet real challenges is evidenced by the high level of commitment and involvement achieved by all EPOS interested in the results, the coincidence of these with the expected results in the research area of the 7th Framework Program, known as Internet of Services, and its alignment with the National Plan I+D+I’s strategic lines; the action plan for Junta de Andalucía’s strategic public digital plan, and the strategic development challenges of INES, the National Software and Services Platform.