Using Probabilistic Model Checking and Simulation for Designing Self-Organizing Systems

Self-organization is a feasible metaphor for dealing with the growing complexity of today's software systems. Self-organization makes desired global system's behavior appear as an emergent property from component local interactions. The corresponding dynamics is usually non-linear so that the adoption of stochastic simulation and probabilistic model checking becomes essential in the early design stage. In this paper, as a reference example, a possible application of such techniques is shown on a problem called collective sort, whose emergent properties were analyzed by relying on the PRISM probabilistic model checker.