With the global trend in making software systems both mobile and cloud-based, many such systems are being designed and offer situation-aware runtime services to their end users. At the same time, both latest and historic data, in massive amount, generated or accepted by these systems can be kept, processed, used, derived, and shared. Mobile components of such systems can be installed and upgraded through app markets either automatically or manually. Moreover, the changes in features of cloud components of such systems can be chosen by service providers at any time. This emerging type of software systems both enables and requires novel methods in conducting software requirement, design, verification and validation, deployment, operation, and maintenance activities. It also finds major applications in solving technical issues in the domains of smart and connected health, software analytics, wearable computing, internet-of-things, cyber-physical systems, creative computing, and smart planet, to name a few. Nonetheless, significant new challenges must be addressed. For instance, how to scale up and downsize mobile or cloud-based components of such systems at run time, how to collaboratively discover, manage and harvest lifecycle data and social information when conducting development activities and in operation, how to achieve data-driven coordination among the cyberphysical entities, how to manage the information flow and decision making options in such systems are pressing issues to be investigated.

This special issue solicits papers that address significant and new software engineering and applications issues in cloud-based mobile system (CMS). Topics include, but not limited to, the following. Networking, security, and data management aspects of CMS are not within the scope of this special issue.

 Foundations of software engineering for CMS
 Software business of CMS
 CMS infrastructure and platforms for third-party services
 Analysis, design and test of situation-aware and dynamically adaptable CMS
 Deployment and delivery of customizable CMS
 Ecosystem of CMS
 Open-source CMS
 Mining repositories or social media websites of CMS
 Empirical studies and industrial case studies on CMS
 Novel applications of CMS in emerging application domains


Important Dates
November 1, 2015: Deadline for paper submission
February 1, 2016: Notification of 1st round decision
April 1, 2016: Revised submissions due
June 1, 2016: Notification of 2
nd round decision
July 1, 2016: Revised submissions due
August 1, 2016: Notification of final decision