Interoperability of Heterogeneous Systems of Systems: Review of Challenges, Emerging Requirements and Options

Interoperability is one of the critical challenges in the construction and management of distributed and collaborative systems. Hence, a deep understanding of the fundamental barriers to interoperability and of the key requirements that systems must meet to be interoperable is essential. In this direction, in the first part of this research, we conducted a questionnaire survey of stakeholders and practitioners of distributed and collaborative systems. As a result, we identified eight essential interoperability requirements and corresponding challenges. Then, in the second part of our study, we performed a critical literature survey of the building blocks of interoperability to understand the ability of current conceptual approaches-and related technologies-to address the identified requirements. The results of our research can significantly impact the software engineering of interoperable systems by introducing their fundamental requirements and the best practices to address them.