Designing and testing systems of systems: from variability models to test cases passing through desirability assessment

In the early stages of a system of systems (SoS) conception, several constituent systems
could be available that provide similar functionalities. An SoS design methodology
should provide adequate means to model variability in order to support the
opportunistic selection of the most desirable SoS configuration. We propose the
VANTESS approach that (i) supports SoS modeling taking into account the variation
points implied by the considered constituent systems; (ii) includes a heuristics to
weight benefits and costs of potential architectural choices (called as SoS variants)
for the selection of the constituent systems; and finally (iii) also helps test planning
for the selected SoS variant by deriving a simulation model on which test objectives
and scenarios can be devised. We illustrate an application example of VANTESS to
the "educational" SoS and discuss its pros and cons within a focus group.