A Systematic Review of Self-Adaptive Mobile Applications with Cooperative Dimension

The proliferation of mobile devices has driven significant growth in adaptive mobile applications (AMAs) that dynamically adjust their behavior based on contextual changes. While existing research has extensively studied individual adaptive systems, limited attention has been given to cooperative adaptation—where multiple AMAs coordinate their adaptive behaviors within shared mobile ecosystems. This systematic literature review addresses this research gap by analyzing 95 peer-reviewed studies published between 2010 and 2025 to characterize the current state of cooperative adaptation in mobile applications. Following established systematic review protocols, we searched six academic databases and applied rigorous inclusion/exclusion criteria to identify relevant studies. Our analysis reveals eight critical dimensions of cooperative adaptation: Monitor–Analyze–Plan–Execute–Knowledge (MAPE-K) structure, application domain, adaptation goals, context management, adaptation triggers, aspect considerations, coordination mechanisms, and cooperation levels. The findings indicate that 63.2% of studies demonstrate some form of cooperative behavior, ranging from basic context sharing to sophisticated conflict resolution mechanisms. However, only 7.4% of studies explicitly address high-level cooperative adaptation involving global goal optimization or comprehensive conflict resolution. Energy efficiency (21.1%) and usability (33.7%) emerge as the most frequently addressed adaptation goals, with Android platforms dominating the research landscape (36.8%). The review identifies significant gaps in comprehensive lifecycle support, standardized evaluation methodologies, and theoretical frameworks for multi-application cooperation. These findings establish a foundation for advancing research in cooperative adaptive mobile systems and provide a classification framework to guide future investigations in this emerging domain.