5th International Workshop on Non-functional Properties in Modeling: Analysis, Languages, Processes (NIM-ALP2013, previously NFPinDSML)

Affiliated with MODELS 2013, Miami, USA, Sept 29 – Oct 1, 2013, http://www.modelsconference.org/

The NIM-ALP workshop series (previously NFPinDSML) brings together researchers and practitioners that explore specification and analysis of Non-functional Requirements (NFR) and estimation, final evaluation, and certification of Non-functional Properties (NFPs) of software systems during the design based on Model Driven Engineering principles.
The main objective is to provide synergies of process engineering, software language engineering, requirements engineering, software analysis and simulation, and model transformation to enable the development of systems that optimally and certifiably meet NFRs.

A typical NIM-ALP paper studies steps in processes for capturing and prioritizing NFRs and tradeoff analysis of NFPs. Additionally, the typical paper can also introduce languages and annotations for specification of NFRs and NFPs. A typical paper also studies formalisms and simulations for NFP analysis, and transformations of design models that enable automated analysis certification. Finally, a NIM-ALP paper can also introduce different models and interactions of NFPs. In general, a NIM-ALP paper contributes to understanding of NFRs and NFPs and establishment of analysis approaches, languages, and processes that facilitate capturing of NFRs and the development of software systems whose NFPs optimally and certifiably satisfy these NFRs.

Cloud computing rapidly becomes a major research and industrial topic. It offers easy, convenient, and elastic deployment infrastructure for its users. However, there is still lack of methods for systematic and optimal development and deployment of applications to the cloud. Therefore, there is a need for appropriate processes, analysis approaches and languages which allow for engineering cloud applications.
For this reason, this year’s topic of the workshop is non-functional properties in Cloud Computing.
Topics of interest (not limited) are:

- Languages and approaches for modeling NFRs and NFPs of cloud applications
- Early requirements of cloud applications
- Traceability of NFRs in the cloud applications
- Estimation and evaluation of NFPs in the cloud applications
- Security and privacy in cloud applications
- Multi-dimensional optimization of cloud applications
- Multi-formalisms and multi-solutions to assess different kind of NFPs of cloud applications
- Survivability and adaptivity of cloud applications
- Service Level Agreements of cloud applications

Beside topics related to cloud computing, this year’s workshop also covers general topics like (not limited to):

- Requirements modeling languages and non-functional properties
- Early non-functional requirements as crosscutting concerns
- Traceability of non-functional requirements
- Estimation and evaluation of non-functional properties (processes involving analytical modeling, simulations and measurement)
- Safety and legal certification using MDE principles
- Domain specific modeling languages and quality metrics
- Multi-formalisms and multi-solutions to assess different kind of NFPs
- Prioritization and optimization in the case of multiple NFPs of interest
- Survivability modeling and analysis methods
- Adaptive systems and distributed embedded systems

Papers submission.
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We solicit contributions from industry (3 to 4 pages), position papers (4 to 6 pages) and full technical papers (8 to 10 pages) formatted according to the LNCS style (http://www.springer.com/computer/lncs?SGWID=0-164-6-793341-0). An industry contribution is expected to report the outline of an experience report that an industry representative should present to the audience. It is expected to present industrial problems to members of academia. Short papers will be expected to discuss controversial issues in the field or describe interesting or thought-provoking ideas that are not yet fully developed.

Full papers will be expected to describe new research results and have a higher degree of technical rigor than short papers. All papers must not have been previously published or submitted elsewhere.
All papers should be submitted via the NIM-ALP2013 online submission system:

https://www.easychair.org/conferences/?conf=nimalp2013.

Accepted papers will be published in the workshop proceedings. Selected and improved papers of NIM-ALP2013 and papers solicited through an open-call for papers will be published in the special issue of an appropriate journal.