Software Interoperability Analysis in Practice: A Survey

Software interoperability property plays a vital role in enabling interoperation in todayfis system-of-systems, cyber-physical systems, ecosystems, etc. Despite the critical role of interoperability analysis in enabling a successful and meaningful software interoperation, it is still facing challenges that impede performing it effectively and efficiently. We performed an online survey of software engineers with software integration experiences to identify the main difficulties of performing interoperability analysis. The results confirm that the state of available practical support and current input artifacts used during the analysis are significantly perceived as important difficulties. Respondents claim a lack of guidelines and best practices for applying interoperability analysis and claim insufficiency of shared information about interoperable software units. This indicates the need for providing directive and rigorous guidelines for practitioners to follow and to enrich the content of shared documents about interoperable software units.