User centric service composition in service ecosystems

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Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) uses loosely coupled web services as basic constructs to compose larger systems in a relatively low-cost and rapid fashion. With the explosive growth of web services, more users access web services using mobile devices which have low processing power and small screens instead of using powerful machinery. This gives rise to service ecosystems in a larger context where the composed services involve diverse computing platforms (e.g., smart phones and desktops). A significant amount of effort from industry and academics supports developers in composing services using well-defined business processes. However, more effort is required in order to deliver dynamic services to end users and allow them to seamlessly interact with services across heterogeneous platforms. The goals of the proposed project will focus on the following three aspects: 1) Goal driven service discovery: will identify user goals (such as planning a trip within a budget) from user queries and guide users to filter large volumes of returned services in order to achieve their goals; 2) Dynamic service composition: will devise techniques that dynamically search and compose services to assist a user in fulfilling their desired goals; and 3) Integrated service enactments across multiple platforms: will create an infrastructure that supports information sharing across different computing platforms, so that users can switch between devices during a transaction to carry out composed services without having to repeat previously done steps after the switch. Our work can simplify end users' involvement in the service composition by reducing laborious routine tasks. The result of our work will reduce user's frustration when they want to continue their work after switching devices to access web services. In short, our research also permits companies, like IBM, SAP, and Apple, to expedite the delivery and wide adaption of their software products to end users. This project will train 9 HQP (2 PhD, 3 MSc, 3 BSc and 1RA) in the important area of software engineering, specifically SOA software.