Francisco J. Garijo

Agent Oriented Analysis Using Message/UML

This paper presents the MESSAGE/UML agent oriented software engineering methodology and illustrates it on an analysis case study. The methodology covers MAS analysis and design and is intended for use in mainstream software engineering departments. MESSAGE integrates into a coherent AOSE methodology some basic agent related concepts such as Organization, role, goal and task, that have so far been studied in isolation. The MESSAGE notation extends the UML with agent knowledge level concepts, and diagrams with notations for viewing them. The proposed diagrams extend UML class and activity diagrams.

Intelligent Agents for Telecommunication Applications

This paper describes the JIAC (Java Intelligent Agent Componentware) architecture, an open and scalable agent architecture. The telecommunication market of today being in continuos expansion is in need of a platform to access the resulting growing demands. JIAC provides an agent based platform to meet those demands of the telecommunication applications. Agent oriented techniques are considered the adequate solution for the maintenance of networks and the provisioning of services. JIAC is using the component based approach to build customised agents. To realise telecommunication applications, JIAC relies on electronic marketplaces as the basic structure.

Meta-models for building multi-agent systems

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.

BOGAR_LN: An Agent Based Component Framework for Developing Multi-modal Services Using Natural Language

This paper describes BOGAR_LN an agent-based component-ware framework which consist of a multi-layered library and support tools for component creation, retrieval, management, and reuse. BOGAR_LN library provides application developers with four categories of reusable component models: Agent Organization models, Agent models, Resource models, and Basic computing entities. For each category, there are generic components which represents abstract reusable patterns and application oriented components. Component instances are made up of three blocks of information: design description in UML, code implementation in Java, and an extensible collection of attribute-value descriptors. The initial repertoire of repository components, comes from previous experiences in developing Agent based telecom services. The paper also presents the metrics and the evaluation approach to assess the benefits of the framework. Evaluation data have been gathered by using the framework to develop a mixed-initiative spoken dialog system for appointment management over the telephone. Results showed significant reductions on both project duration and cost. Compared to previous developments the time and the engineering effort required to build the service, was on average 65% less when using BOGART_LN.

Leveraging the Upcoming Internet of Services through an Open User-Service Front-End Framework

The Internet of the Future is expected to be composed of a mesh of interoperable Web Services accessed from all over the Web. This approach has not yet caught on since a global user-service interaction is still an open issue. This paper states our position with regard to the next generation front-end technology for the Internet of the Future. This approach will enable the massive deployment of services over the Internet in a user-centric fashion. This paper advocates the full development of front-end technologies to bring services closer to users, empowering them anytime and anywhere. It also outlines all the main gaps and technological challenges that have to be addressed. Finally, a model and an architecture are proposed for building these technologies into NESSIs Open Framework Reference Architecture, NEXOF-RA.

The Message Methodology

This chapter presents MESSAGE, an innovative agent oriented software engineering methodology, and it illustrates this methodology on an analysis and design case study. The methodology covers all phases of the software lifecycle, but focuses on MAS analysis and high-level design. It is intended for use in mainstream software engineering departments. MESSAGE integrates into a coherent AOSE methodology some basic agent related concepts such as organization, role, goal and task, that have so far been studied in isolation. The MESSAGE notation extends the UML with agent knowledge level concepts, and provides graphical notations for viewing them. The proposed diagrams extend UML class and activity diagrams.

Intelligent Interface Agents Behavior Modeling

This paper presents a software architecture for modeling Interface Agents that is based on the BDI (Believes, Desires, Intentions) approach. This architecture is supported with a methodology that guides the designer to build a complex interface agent. This work has been applied to a fully operative implementation in the EURESCOM P815 project framework.

Development of a multi-agent system for cooperative work with network negotiation capabilities

This paper describes the architecture and operation of a Multi Agent system for providing end users with an intelligent interface for video conference and cooperative work services. The system consists of negotiating Agents: the Personal Communication Agents offers the user an intelligent interface to the service, it negotiates the best conditions in terms of quality of service and costs, the Service Provider Agent (SPA) supports the provisioning of telecommunication services to customers; the Network Provisioning Agent (NPA) provides network connectivity upon requests from the SPA. The physical setting is made up network nodes interconnected through two Public Networks; the Internet and ISDN. Network nodes are based on PCs running Windows 95/windows NT, and Unix work stations. The system is being developed as part of the EURESCOM P712 project. The objective of the project is to assess and make recommendations on the applicability of intelligent and mobile agent technology to telecommunications service and network management. The evaluation criteria and the current status of the system are presented in the paper.

A model-driven process for the modernization of component-based systems

Software modernization is critical for organizations that need cost-effective solutions to deal with the rapid obsolescence of software and the increasing demand for new functionality. This paper presents the XIRUP modernization methodology, which proposes a highly iterative process, structured into four phases: preliminary evaluation, understanding, building and migration. This modernization process is feature-driven, component-based, focused on the early elicitation of key information, and relies on a model-driven approach with extensive use of experience from the previous projects. XIRUP has been defined in the European IST project MOMOCS, which has also built a suite of support tools. This paper introduces the process using a case study that illustrates its activities, related tools and results. The discussion highlights the specific characteristics of modernization projects and how a customized methodology can take advantage of them.

The Application of Intelligent and Mobile Agents to Networks and Service Management

Agent technology promises to increase the flexibility and power of telecommunications management systems and services. This paper describes ongoing work that, through prototyping and experimentation, is aiming to understand the practical implications and benefits of applying agent technology to network and service management.