Abstract: A method for determining integrity in an evolutionary collaborative information system is provided. The method involves recursively defining interaction of each component ensembles that respects product and technology information for identifying credentials on components and constraints on component interactions. Constraints are explicitly defined as interactional properties that are measured, derived from measurements, or evaluated from other constraints or credentials in the context of an component ensemble. Credentials are defined as properties of components that are measured, derived from measurements, or evaluated from other credentials in the context of an component ensemble. The applied ensemble decompositions that realize a service are identified for a service invocation. The values of constraints and the values of credentials in the ensemble decompositions are recursively evaluated. The integrity of the ensembles as a function of the values of the credentials and constraints is determined.