Dynamic Architecture Based Evolution of Enterprise Information Systems

Enterprise Information Systems have to co-evolve with the enterprise they support. Their evolution is the one of an important software system. Software evolution should be addressed at all developpement phases in order to notably reduce costs (Lehman, 1996). The issue of software systems evolution has been addressed mainly at the code level. In this paper we present how evolution of enterprise information systems can take place at higher abstraction levels, when using an architecture-centred development process. The evolutions addressed are dynamic, i.e. they take place at runtime and concern both planned and unplanned evolutions of the enterprise information system.