Under-specification, composition and emergent properties
Heather Hinton · 1997
hhintonQee.ryerson.ca Emergent behaviours are those that result from the interaction of the component behaviours within a composite system. We show that emergent behaviours, and their emergent properties, play a role in the composability and satisfiability of the properties of a composite system. Using an emergent properties analysis we can identify which aspects of component behaviour lead to the (undesirable) emergent behaviour for a given composite system. These “undesirable ” behaviours are often the result of the under-specification of the behaviour of the system, or assumptions made about the environment in which the system exists. By identifying these under-specifications and assumptions we are able to “strengthen ” the specification and implementation of individual systems so that desired properties will be composable.