SHOW publication #250 - ABLE Publications

This chapter introduces a new way of thinking about software systems for supporting the activities of end-users. In this approach, models of user activities are promoted to first class entities, and software systems are assembled and configured dynamically based on activity models. This constitutes a fundamental change of perspective over traditional applications: activities take the main stage and may be long-lived, whereas the agents that carry them out are plentiful and interchangeable. The core of the chapter describes a closed-loop control design that enables activity-oriented systems to become self-aware and self-configurable, and to adapt to dynamic changes both in the requirements of user activities and in the environment resources. The chapter discusses how that design addresses challenges such as user mobility, resolving conflicts in accessing scarce resources, and robustness in the broad sense of responding adequately to user expectations, even in unpredictable situations, such as random failures, erroneous user input, and continuously changing resources. The chapter further summarizes challenges and ongoing work related to managing activities where humans and automated agents collaborate, human-computer interactions for managing activities, and privacy and security aspects.