Abstract
The challenge of developing dynamically-evolving resilient distributed systems that are composed of autonomous components has been partially addressed by introducing the concept of component ensembles. Nevertheless, systematic design of complex ensemble-based systems is still a pressing issue.
This stems from the fact that contemporary design methods do not scale in terms of the number and complexity of ensembles and components, and do not efficiently cope with the dynamism involved. To address this issue, we present a novel method - Invariant Refinement Method (IRM) - for designing ensemble-based component systems by building on goal-based requirements elaboration, while integrating component architecture design and software control system design.