WG Methodology

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WG Methodology

• Chair
• Massimo Cossentino
• (Italian National Research Council)

2
Outline

• AOSE (Agent Oriented Software Engineering) today
• Our goals
• The proposed approach
• What is Method Engineering
• The WG Methodology work plan
• What has been done, what is to be done
• List of supporters
• Agenda of the Budapest meeting

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AOSE Today

• Several methodologies with different advantages
• Gaia
• Mase
• Message
• PASSI
• Prometheus
• Tropos
• No standard modeling language
• ? Modeling TC activity, AUML
• Different tools
• How to make them interact?

4
Our Goals

• Let the developer of a multi-agent system create
  his own methodology
• Suited for the specific problem/system to be
  built
• Not conflicting with his (development)
  environmental constraints
• Coherent with his (or his group) knowledge and
  skills
• Supported by a CASE tool
• Using a standard modeling language

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The proposed approach

• Method Engineering
• The development methodology is built by the
  developer assembling pieces of the process
  (method fragments) from a method base.
• The method base is composed of contributions
  coming from existing methodologies and other
  novel and specifically conceived fragments
• Modeling Language ? Modeling WG activity

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What is method engineering
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Method Engineeringpeople, artifacts and tools
The Method Engineer uses a CAME tool to compose
the new methodology by reusing fragments from the
repository
The Method Engineer analyzes the problem and the
development context/people to deduce new
methodology features
The CAME tool is used to instantiate a
methodology specific tool
The System Designer using the CASE tool specifies
and develops the agent solution
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What is a (method) fragment

• A fragment1 is a portion of the development
  process, composed as follows
• A portion of process (what is to be done, in what
  order), defined with a SPEM diagram
• One or more deliverables (artifacts like
  (A)UML/UML diagrams, text documents and so on).
• Some preconditions (they are a kind of constraint
  because it is not possible to start the process
  specified in the fragment without the required
  input data or without verifying the required
  guard condition)
• A list of concepts (related to the MAS
  meta-model) to be defined (designed) or refined
  during the specified process fragment.
• Guideline(s) that illustrates how to apply the
  fragment and best practices related to that
• A glossary of terms used in the fragment (in
  order to avoid misunderstandings if the fragment
  is reused in a context that is different from the
  original one)
• Other information (composition guidelines,
  platform to be used, application area and
  dependency relationships useful to assemble
  fragments) complete this definition.
• 1According to the FIPA Methodology TC definition
  (see http//www.pa.icar.cnr.it/cossentino/
  FIPAmeth/metamodel.htm)

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The new methodology production process
All methodologies are expressed in a standard
notation (we adopt SPEM - Software Process
Engineering Metamodel by OMG)
Fragments are identified and described according
to the previous discussed definition
New fragments are defined if necessary
A method fragments repository is composed with
all existing fragments
The desired MAS-Meta-Model is composed according
to problem specific needs (for instance including
or not self-organizing agents)
A new and problem specific methodology is built
A CASE (Computer Aided Software Engineering) tool
is used to effectively design the multi-agent
system
The multi-agent system has been coded, tested and
is ready to be deployed
A CAME (Computer Aided Method Engineering) tool
assists in the selection of fragments and
composition of design process
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OO vs AO Method Engineering

• Method Engineering has been introduced in the
  object oriented (OO) context some years ago
• It could seem that introducing the method
  engineering paradigm in the agent oriented (AO)
  context is a plain operation.
• It is not so, because in the OO context the
  construction of method fragments (pieces of
  methodology), the assembling of the methodology
  with them and the execution of the design rely on
  a common denominator, the universally accepted
  concept of object and related model of the object
  oriented system.
• In the agent context, there is not an universally
  accepted definition of agent nor it exists any
  very diffused model of the multi-agent system.

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MAS meta-models

• It is the meta-model of the system to be built
• It specifies
• which elements (agents, roles, behaviors,
  communications, ) will constitute the agent
  solution
• which relationships exist among these elements
• The MAS meta-model (when chosen before of the
  methodology) provides a guideline for the
  methodology pieces selection and assembling

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Methodology TC Work Plan

• Creation of the meta-model. It is necessary to
  formally represent method fragments in order to
  store them in the method base.
• Identification of the method base architecture.
  The method base needs of a technological
  infrastructure for the instantiation of the
  method meta-model previously described.
• the details of this architecture strongly effect
  the possibility of a CASE/CAME tool support and
  availability.
• Collection of method fragments. They can origin
  from the most diffused methodologies and other
  specific contributions. After the formalization
  they will be introduced in the method base.
• Description of techniques for method integration.
  Product-oriented integration allows the
  composition of different fragments emphasizing
  their inter-relationships, process-oriented
  integration facilitate the composition of the
  logical sequence of steps of the methodology.

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Deliverables

• A specification document of fragment methods
  meta-model
• A specification document for the architecture of
  the method base
• A set of reusable methods obtained from existing
  agent-based development methodologies
• A collection of guidelines for method
  integration
• A glossary of methodology-related terms

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What has been done

• First release of a glossary of agent-design
  related terms (one of the TC deliverables) (see
  http//www.pa.icar.cnr.it/cossentino/
  FIPAmeth/glossary.htm)
• Definition of the method fragment specification
  in terms of a portion of process, some
  deliverables, preconditions, list of concepts
  addressed in the fragment, guidelines, glossary
  of terms, composition guidelines, aspects and
  dependencies.
• Definition of a proposal of MAS meta-model
• Extensive experimentation of OMG SPEM as a
  modeling language for representing process
  aspects of fragments of MAS design processes
• Description of several methodologies in a form
  that is suitable for fragment extractions (in
  several cases set of fragments are already
  available) (one talk about that later in the
  methodology meeting)
• Preliminary definition of an architecture for the
  fragment repository
• Experiments of methodologies composition

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Method Fragment structure
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Description of a methodology in SPEM

• (From the PASSI process)

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Description of a methodology in SPEM

• (From PASSI process the Agent Society Phase)

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Relationship with the MAS meta-model

• MAS meta-model elements and work products are
  directly related
• Kinds of relationships
• Define
• Refine
• Quote
• Relate

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A unifying MAS meta-model (from Adelfe, Gaia,
Ingenias, PASSI)
C. Bernon, M. Cossentino, M.P. Gleizes, J. Pavon,
P. Turci, F. Zambonelli. Towards Unification of
Multi-Agent Systems Meta-Models.
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Experiments of methodologies compositions

• Recently, several papers have been written
• Among the others
• Following the Methodology TC approach
• M. Cossentino, V. Seidita. Composition of a New
  Process to Meet Agile Needs Using Method
  Engineering. Software Engineering for Large
  Multi-Agent Systems vol. III. LNCS Series,
  Elsivier Ed. (2004)
• A. Garro, G. Fortino, W. Russo. Using Method
  Engineering for the Construction of
  Agent-Oriented Methodologies. In Proc. of WOA 04
  - Dagli Oggetti agli Agenti, Sistemi Complessi e
  Agenti razionali, pages 5154, Torino, Italy,
  December 2004.
• Following similar approaches
• B. Henderson-Sellers. Method Engineering for OO
  Systems Development. Communications of the ACM,
  46(10), 2003. 29 B. Henderson-Sellers. Creating
  a comprehensive agent-oriented methodology -
  using method engineering and the OPEN metamodel.
  In B. Henderson-Sellers and P. Giorgini, editors,
  Agent-Oriented Methodologies Idea Group, 2005.
• T. Juan, and L. Sterling, and M. Winikoff.
  Assembling Agent Oriented Software Engineering
  Methodologies from Features. In Proc. of the
  Third International Workshop on Agent-Oriented
  Software Engineering, at AAMAS02.

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What is (still) to be done(according to the old
plan)

• Extraction of more fragments from existing
  methodologies in order to improve the methods
  base
• Documents to be completed
• Fragment Repository architecture definition
• Methodology Assembying Guidelines

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Proposals for a new plan

• Merging with OPF (Open Process Framework)?
• Design tools
• A standardization effort could help in enabling
  the development of this kind of tools
• Specific topics of interest for FIPA
• Definition of a MAS meta-model,
• Definition of the methodology meta-model
• Identification of the basic activities that
  constitute a MAS design process (?)
• Proposals?

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Budapest Meeting Agenda

• Discussion on method fragment definition and
  submission to the FIPA board for approval
• Discussion on the new work plan
• Definition of the new WG proposal document
• Other topics?

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Supporters of the initial plan (2003)

• Bernhard Bauer, Technische Universität München
• Monique Calisti, Whitestein Technologies
• Massimo Cossentino, ICAR-CNR (considering FIPA
  membership)
• Renato Levy, Intelligent Automation, Inc.
• James Odell, James Odell Associates
• Radovan Cervenka, Whitestein Technologies
• Paola Turci, University of Parma (considering
  FIPA membership)
• Gerhard Weiss, Technische Universität München

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Members subscribed to the Mailing List

• Babar Zia, San Jose State University, California
• Bauer Bernhard, University of Augsburg
• Bernon Carole, IRIT / University Paul Sabatier,
  Toulouse - France
• Beydoun Ghassan, School of Information Systems
  and Management, University of New South Wales,
  Australia
• Calisti Monique,Whitestein Technologies
• Cossentino Massimo, Italian National Research
  Council
• Cysneiros Gilberto Amado de Azevedo Cysneiros
  Filho, City University, London - PhD Student
• David Nuno, ADETTI/ISCTE
• Eggenberger Martin, Personal Research ACM
  Member
• Garro Alfred, D.E.I.S. - University of Calabria
• Gleizes Marie-Pierre IRIT
• Henderson-Sellers Brian, University of
  Technology, Sydney
• Hopmans Gabriel, Communications Research
  Semiotics, University Maastricht
• Huget Marc-Philippe, Agent ART Group, University
  of Liverpool
• Ingram Maciej, the Cracow University of
  Technology (Poland)

• Jouvin Denis, LIRIS (CNRS FRE 2672), université
  Lyon 1
• Leversee Kevin, Zed Tycho Pty. Ltd
• Levy Renato, IAI Inc.
• Massonet Philippe, CETIC
• Mattocks Charles, CHECKMi
• Mellouli Sehl, Laval University
• Morreale Vito, Engineering Ingegneria Informatica
• Odell James,James Odell Associates
• Pavon Juan, Universidad Complutense Madrid
• Pinto Rosa Candida, Nilson Borba Bezerra
  Cavalcanti and Maria Luiza de Souza Leão
  Cavalcanti
• Pirker Michael, PROFACTOR GmbH
• Postnikov Alexey, Russia, Taganrog State
  University Of Radioengineering
• Reitbauer Alois, Profactor GmbH
• Sabatucci Luca, Univ. of Palermo
• Silva Ismênia, MSc student on CIN, Federal
  University of Pernambuco -UFPE, Brazil
• Turci Paola, University of Parma
• Unland Rainer, University of Duisburg-Essen
• Ye Shiren, National Univ of Singapore
• Yusko Jay, Illinois Institute of Technology