Domain Objects for Continuous Context-Aware Adaptation of Service-based Systems

The idea to build systems based on services, by reusing and combining software made available independently via different technologies and channels and dynamically organizing them into coherent processes, has a very well recognized potential. Achieving this potential stands crucially on the ability to recognize and exploit the context in which such applications operate, in terms of the available services, of the actual setup at run-time, and of the interaction with human actors. Changing contexts require run-time reaction, by adapting the ongoing overall process enacted by the service-based system to unexpected deviations. Continuous context-aware adaptation is hencefore a strong requirement in this setting. In this paper, we propose a service delivery platform designed for the continuous context-aware adaptation of service-based systems, based on the idea of monitoring the underlying context via a hierarchical model, and using the context to drive the choice and execution of adaptive pervasive flows. We describe the approach through an example from the smart cities e-mobility domain.