Valuing the design flexibility of a distributed real-time embedded system

The need to support future requirements necessitates adding flexibility into the design of a distributed real-time embedded system. The added flexibility allows the system to adapt to the future requirements at a minimal cost. This design flexibility is a qualitative attribute which lacks a quantitative measure to evaluate the different designs of a distributed real-time embedded system. In this paper, we suggest a way to quantify the design flexibility of a distributed real-time embedded system using an economic measure. We maximize this measure using a formal framework to derive an optimal flexible design which accommodates the evolving requirements at a minimal cost.