Title :
Architecting ultra-large-scale green information systems
Author :
Chen, Hong-Mei ; Kazman, Rick
Author_Institution :
Dept. of Inf. Technol. Manage., Univ. of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI, USA
Abstract :
As environmental sustainability issues have come to the societal and governmental forefront, a new breed of Green Information Systems (IS) - Ultra-Large-Scale (ULS) Green IS - is emerging. A ULS Green IS is an open socio-technical ecosystem that differs from traditional IS in scale, complexity and urgency. Design issues found in ULS systems, System of Systems, Edge-dominant, Metropolis systems and Green IS converge and multiply in the ULS Green IS context. This paper presents a design framework and an architecture analysis method, ECO-ARCH, to address the design of such systems. Through an action research study on architecting for Demand Response systems in the Smart Grid, this article illuminates the system characteristics of ULS Green IS and endorses a fundamental shift in design thinking for its design - from “bounded rationality” for problem solving to “expandable rationality” for design for the unknown and for innovation. ECO-ARCH advances existing software architecture analysis methods by complimenting expandable rationality design thinking with proven engineering techniques in a dual-level macroscopic-microscopic analysis. This tackles the unique architecting problems of ULS Green IS where many stakeholders are unknown and design goals are not provided, where no architecture pre-exists, where system behavior is non-deterministic and continuously evolving, and where co-creation with consumers and prosumers is essential to achieving triple bottom line goals.
Keywords :
environmental science computing; power engineering computing; smart power grids; software architecture; sustainable development; ECO-ARCH; ULS green IS; bounded rationality; demand response systems; dual-level macroscopic-microscopic analysis; edge-dominant system; environmental sustainability issues; expandable rationality design thinking; metropolis systems; open socio-technical ecosystem; problem solving; smart grid; software architecture analysis methods; system of systems; ultra-large-scale green information systems; Air pollution; Companies; Computer architecture; Green products; Problem-solving; Smart grids; Technological innovation; Architecture Analysis method; Architecture Landscape; Crowdsourced System; Design Science; Ecosystem; Green Information Systems; Smart Grid; Sustainability; Ultra Large Scale System;
Conference_Titel :
Green and Sustainable Software (GREENS), 2012 First International Workshop on
Conference_Location :
Zurich
Print_ISBN :
978-1-4673-1833-4
DOI :
10.1109/GREENS.2012.6224259