Robustness by Design

Engineering software systems has become increasingly complex due to factors such as the shift towards concurrency and distribution, as well as the adoption of DevOps principles for faster development cycles. While users expect software systems to be fast, intuitive, and secure, the complexity of modern software infrastructure makes it difficult to achieve robustness in the face of errors. Similar to security, robustness cannot be added as an afterthought and must be considered from the outset of the development process, due to the cross-cutting nature of both concerns that can influence the entire architecture of the system. This paper proposes an approach called robustness by design, inspired by the concept of security by design, which emphasizes the importance of building robustness into software systems at all stages of development. We outline the key factors that contribute to robustness and suggest methods for addressing them throughout the development process, ultimately paving the way for a more effective and generic approach to robustness engineering.