Meta-models for building multi-agent systems

ABSTRACT

This paper reports the experience of using meta-models for improving analysis and design activities in multi-agent system engineering. Four meta-models describing different views of the MAS such as organization view, agent, goals/tasks, and interactions are presented. Meta-models are described in UML MOF which make them compatible with current software engineering formalisms. Engineers may instantiate the meta- models to produce the entities that may appear in concrete MAS. These meta-models have been derived from several experimentations in MAS, which are briefly described in the paper. Engineering experience in using the meta-models for building MAS applications is also reported in the conclusions.

REFERENCES

• 1: Brazier, F. M. T. ; Keplicz, B. Dunin; Jennings, N.; Treur, J. Desire: Modelling multi-agent systems in a compositional formal framework. International Journal of Cooperative Information Systems, 6:67-94, 1997.
• 2: Paolo Bresciani , Anna Perini , Paolo Giorgini , Fausto Giunchiglia , John Mylopoulos, A knowledge level software engineering methodology for agent oriented programming, Proceedings of the fifth international conference on Autonomous agents, p.648-655, May 2001, Montreal, Quebec, Canada [doi>10.1145/375735.376477]
• 3: Anne Dardenne , Axel van Lamsweerde , Stephen Fickas, Goal-directed requirements acquisition, Science of Computer Programming, v.20 n.1-2, p.3-50, April 1993
• 4: Dernazeau, Y.: From interactions to collective behaviour in agent-based systems. In European Conference on Cognitive Sciences, 1995.
• 5: Eurescom P712. Intelligent and mobile agents and their applicability to service and network management. http://www.eurescom.de/public/projects/P700-series/P712/P712.htm
• 6: Eurescom P815. Communications Management Process Integration Using Software Agents. http://www.eurescom.de/public/projects/P800-series/P815/P815.htm
• 7: Eurescom P907. MESSAGE Methodology, Initial Version. July, 2000. http://www.eurescom.de/~public-webspace/P900-series/P907/index.htm
• 8: J. Ferber , O. Gutknecht, A Meta-Model for the Analysis and Design of Organizations in Multi-Agent Systems, Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Multi Agent Systems, p.128, July 03-07, 1998
• 9: Francisco Garijo , Juan Tous , José M. Matias , Stephen Corley , Marius Tesselaar, Development of a multi-agent system for cooperative work with network negotiation capabilities, Proceedings of the second international workshop on Intelligent agents for telecommunication applications, p.204-219, June 1999, Paris, France
• 10: Garijo, F., Gomez-Sanz, J. J., Pavón, J.: Multi-Agent System Organization. An Engineering Perspective. Proceedings of MAAMAW 2001.
• 11: Jorge J. Gómez-Sanz , Juan Pavón , Francisco J. Garijo, Intelligent Interface Agents Behavior Modeling, Proceedings of the Mexican International Conference on Artificial Intelligence: Advances in Artificial Intelligence, p.598-609, April 11-14, 2000
• 12: Carlos Argel Iglesias , Mercedes Garijo , José Centeno-González , Juan R. Velasco, Analysis and Design of Multiagent Systems Using MAS-Common KADS, Proceedings of the 4th International Workshop on Intelligent Agents IV, Agent Theories, Architectures, and Languages, p.313-327, July 24-26, 1997
• 13: Elizabeth A. Kendall , Margaret T. Malkoun , Chong H. Jiang, A Methodology for Developing Agent Based Systems, Proceedings of the First Australian Workshop on DAI: Distributed Artificial Intelligence: Architecture and Modelling, p.85-99, November 13, 1995
• 14: Philippe Kruchten, The Rational Unified Process: an introduction, Addison-Wesley Longman Publishing Co., Inc., Boston, MA, 1999
• 15: Massonet, P. et al.: MESSAGE: Engineering Agent Systems with UML. Proceedings of AOSE 2001.
• 16: Newell A.: The knowledge level. Artificial Intelligence, 18(1982) pp. 87-127.
• 17: Object Management Group. Task and Session CBOs Specification. Version 1.0. April 2000.
• 18: Object Management Group. Meta Object Facility (MOF) Specification, V.1.3. formal/2000-04-03. http://www.omg.org
• 19: Michael Wooldridge , Nicholas R. Jennings , David Kinny, The Gaia Methodology for Agent-Oriented Analysis and Design, Autonomous Agents and Multi-Agent Systems, v.3 n.3, p.285-312, September 2000 [doi>10.1023/A:1010071910869]

INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  D. Software
  D.2 SOFTWARE ENGINEERING
      D.2.1 Requirements/Specifications
          Subjects: Methodologies (e.g., object-oriented, structured)

General Terms:
Design, Documentation, Experimentation

Keywords:
MOF, meta-model, methodology, multi-agent systems, software engineering