9th International Workshop on Models at run.time

Valencia, Spain
30 September 2014

Call for Papers

We are witnessing the emergence of new classes of application that are highly complex, inevitably distributed, and operate in heterogeneous and rapidly changing environments. Such systems are required to be adaptable, flexible, reconfigurable and, increasingly, self-managing. Such characteristics make systems more prone to failure when executing and thus the development and study of appropriate mechanisms for runtime validation and monitoring is required.

In the model-driven software development area, research effort has focused primarily on using models at design, implementation, and deployment stages of development. However, the use of model-driven techniques for validating and monitoring run-time behaviour can also yield significant benefits. A key benefit is that models provide a richer semantic base for run-time decision-making. For example, one can use models to help determine when a system reconfiguration is beneficial. Model-based monitoring and management of executing systems plays a significant role in implementing the key self-* properties associated with autonomic computing.

The goal of this workshop is to look at issues related to developing appropriate model-driven approaches to managing and monitoring the execution of systems. We build on the previous events where we have succeeded in building a community and bringing about an initial exploration of the core ideas of Models@Runtime and now seek:

• experiences with actual implementations of the models@run.time concept
• rationalisation of the various concepts into overall architectural perspectives
• to make explicit the specific roles that models play at runtime.
• impact on software engineering methodologies
• to continue to build a network of researchers in this emerging area, based on the results of the earlier editions.

Workshop Format

The workshop participants will be selected based on their experience and ideas related to this new and emerging field. You are invited to apply for attendance by sending a full-paper (8-10 pages) or a position paper (5-6 pages) in PDF. The paper must conform to the Springer LNCS formatting guidelines: http://www.springer.com/computer/lncs (it is the same format of the Conference, see conference website for more information). Submissions will be reviewed by at least 3 PC members. The authors will be notified about acceptance before the MODELS 2014 early registration deadline. Candidates for best papers (if finally chosen) can be just taken from the category of full-papers.

A primary deliverable of the workshop is a report that clearly outlines (1) the research issues and challenges in terms of specific research problems in the area, and (2) a synopsis of existing model-based solutions that target some well-defined aspect of monitoring and managing the execution of systems. Potential attendees are strongly encouraged to submit position papers that clearly identify research issues and challenges, present techniques that address well-defined problems in the area, and are supported by small demos.

The workshop aims to:

• Integrate and combine research ideas from the areas cited above.
• Provide a "state-of-the-research" assessment expressed in terms of research issues, challenges, and accomplishments. A preliminary version of the intended outcome can be found in the summary of last year's models@run. time workshop (here).
• Plan and promote further events on these topics.

Papers on models@run.time can relate (but are not limited) to the following domains:

• Safety-critical systems
• Cyber-physical systems
• Energy-efficient systems
• Cloud-based systems
• Self-adaptive systems in general

We strongly encourage authors to address the following topics in their papers when relevant.

• What a runtime model looks like and how does it evolve?
• How are the causal links with executing code realized?
• The role of models@run.time in the software development process
• Models@runtime, the silver bullet for runtime assurance and V&V?
• Role of requirement at runtime, requirements reflection
• MDE@Runtime: Are MDE tools ready (performance, etc.) for more dynamic usages?
• How do models at other phases of the SE lifecycle relate to the corresponding runtime models?
• Models@runtime and scalability: horizontally (managing large set of nodes) and vertically (from the cloud to the sensors)
• Models@runtime and software aging: does it help or hurt?
• Small demos and tools that support the use of models@run.time
• Vision papers on novel future directions for models@runtime
• No papers on executable models, unless they are causally (bi-)connected to a running system.

Committees