Call for papers, Special Issue for the ASYDE Workshop@ASE 2025

Name of the call: Automated, Verifiable, and Generative Approaches to Software Engineering

The increasing complexity, dynamism, and scale of modern software systems have intensified the demand for advanced forms of automation throughout the software development lifecycle. The emergence of Generative Artificial Intelligence, particularly Large Language Models (LLMs), combined with architectural and methodological advances such as multi-agent systems, has introduced transformative opportunities for automated analysis, synthesis, verification, and maintenance of software. Simultaneously, the growing importance of correctness, adaptability, and trustworthiness in software-intensive systems underscores the need for rigorous verification and validation frameworks that can seamlessly integrate with automated engineering workflows.

This Special Issue invites high-quality submissions that explore the foundations, methods, and tools required to advance automated, verifiable, and generative approaches to software engineering. We seek contributions offering novel scientific insights, innovative engineering solutions, extensive empirical studies, and significant technological advancements that foster deeper integration between automation, AI-driven engineering, and formal verification. Interdisciplinary works that connect software engineering with artificial intelligence, distributed systems, human–AI collaboration, and cyber-physical systems are also welcome.

By bringing together perspectives on automated synthesis, rigorous verification, agent-based collaboration, and generative modeling, this Special Issue aims to showcase emerging research that can shape the future of trustworthy, adaptive, and scalable software systems.

Scope and Topics of Interest

Submissions are invited on (but not limited to) the following topics:

  • Automated and Generative Software Engineering
    • Automated synthesis of software artifacts
    • Generative AI and LLM-enabled approaches for requirements, modeling, design, code generation, evolution, and maintenance
    • Integration of LLMs into automated engineering workflows
    • Tool support for generative modeling, refactoring, design space exploration, and automated testing
  • Multi-Agent and Distributed Approaches
    • Architectures and coordination frameworks for multi-agent systems in software engineering
    • Distributed and collaborative problem-solving for development, verification, and adaptation
    • Engineering agents for reasoning, negotiation, planning, and decision-making
    • Practical issues in agent-based engineering frameworks
  • Verification, Validation, and Correctness
    • Formal verification of automated or AI-generated artifacts
    • Compositional theories, correctness proofs, and dynamic verification
    • Hybrid verification combining formal methods with ML or generative models
    • Validation of performance, energy, reliability, and security
    • Runtime verification, monitoring, and self-adaptive assurance
  • Model-Driven and Architecture-Centric Approaches
    • Model-driven engineering, transformations, co-simulation, and multi-model integration
    • Formal specifications of architectures and system behaviors
    • Automated migration to microservice- or component-based architectures
    • Domain-specific modeling languages and model synthesis
  • AI-Driven and Learning-Based Methods
    • ML and AI for comprehension, traceability, debugging, optimization, and anomaly detection
    • Automated planning, reasoning, and decision-making for generative or adaptive design
    • Intelligent agents and learning mechanisms for automation
    • Predictive models integrated with verification workflows
  • Applications, Empirical Studies, and Emerging Domains
    • Industrial case studies on automated, verifiable, or generative engineering
    • Empirical evaluations, benchmarks, and experimental frameworks
    • Automated development and formal verification of smart contracts
    • Managing large-scale ecosystems through automation and AI
    • Human–AI interaction and collaboration in automated environments

Please note that surveys, systematic literature reviews, and mapping studies fall outside the scope of this Special Issue.

Deadline

Opening date for submissions: 30 November 2025

Deadline: 30 April 2026

How to Submit

Please submit via Springer

Editor

Guest editor list:

  • Marco Autili (marco.autili@univaq.it)
  • Alessio Bucaioni (alessio.bucaioni@mdu.se)
  • Gianluca Filippone (gianluca.filippone@gssi.it)
  • Vittoriano Muttillo (vmuttillo@unite.it)
  • Riccardo Rubei (riccardo.rubei@mdu.se)
  • Gian Luca Scoccia (gianluca.scoccia@univaq.it)