The institute is chartered to conduct basic research in all areas related to the design, analysis, modelling, implementation and evaluation of complex software systems.

It joins over 80 other institutes run by the Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, which conduct world-class basic research in medicine, biology, chemistry, physics, technology and the humanities.

One of the two bases of the Max Planck Institute for Software Systems is located on the Saarland Informatics Campus,[1] itself based on the campus of the Saarland University, a cluster of research institutes working in the field of computer science and informatics.

Located immediately adjacent to the Saarbrücken base is the MPI for Informatics (MPII) for which the institute works closely and shares core IT and administrative services.

Summing up both locations, the institute has a total capacity of 5 directors, 12 tenure-track or tenured faculty members, and approximately 100 postdocs and doctoral students.