Maarten Sierhuis

Brahms: simulating practice for work systems design

Abstract A continuing problem in business today is the design of human–computer systems that respect how work actually gets done. The overarching context of work consists ofactivities, which people conceive as ways of organizing their daily life and especially their interactions with each other. Activities include reading mail, going to workshops, meeting with colleagues over lunch, answering phone calls, and so on. Brahms is a multiagent simulation tool for modeling the activities of groups in different locations and the physical environment consisting of objects and documents, including especially computer systems. A Brahms model of work practice revealscircumstantial, interactional influenceson how work actually gets done, especially how people involve each other in their work. In particular, a model of practice reveals how people accomplish a collaboration through multiple and alternative means of communication, such as meetings, computer tools, and written documents. Choices of what and how to communicate are dependent uponsocial beliefs and behaviors—what people know about each other’s activities, intentions, and capabilities and their understanding of the norms of the group. As a result, Brahms models can help human–computer system designers to understandhow tasks and information actually flowbetween people and machines, what work is required to synchronize individual contributions, and how tools hinder or help this process. In particular, workflow diagrams generated by Brahms arethe emergent product of local interactions between agents and representational artifacts, not pre-ordained, end-to-end paths built in by a modeler. We developed Brahms as a tool to support the design of work by illuminating how formal flow descriptions relate to the social systems of work; we accomplish this by incorporating multiple views—relating people, information, systems, and geography—in one tool. Applications of Brahms could also include system requirements analysis, instruction, implementing software agents, and a workbench for relating cognitive and social theories of human behavior.

Representation and reasoning for DAML-based policy and domain services in KAoS and nomads

To increase the assurance with which agents can be deployed in operational settings, we have been developing the KAoS policy and domain services. In conjunction with Nomads strong mobility and safe execution features, KAoS services and tools allow for the specification, management, conflict resolution, and enforcement of DAML-based policies within the specific contexts established by complex organizational structures. In this paper, we will discuss results, issues, and lessons learned in the development of these representations, tools, and services and their use in military and space application.

Facilitated hypertext for collective sensemaking: 15 years on from gIBIS

This paper outlines the technical and social dimensions to a hypertext tool that has been successfully used in organizational settings to improve meetings, and capture group memory in real time. The approach derives from hypertext research systems from the mid-1980s-90s which sought to manipulate conceptual structures as hypertextual concept maps. However, many did not receive sustained use due to issues of cognitive overheads and representational inflexibility. Many decided that such tools would never fulfill their promise. The gIBIS system exemplified this early work, but has since evolved into a broader approach to collective sensemaking called Compendium. We outline Compendium, which demonstrates the impact that a hypertext facilitator can have on the learning and adoption problems that often ambush hypertext sensemaking tools before they have the chance to establish roots in work practice.

Adjustable Autonomy and Human-Agent Teamwork in Practice: An Interim Report on Space Applications

We give a preliminary perspective on the basic principles and pitfalls of adjustable autonomy and human-centered teamwork. We then summarize the interim results of our study on the problem of work practice modeling and human-agent collaboration in space applications, the development of a broad model of human-agent teamwork grounded in practice, and the integration of the Brahms, KAoS, and NOMADS agent frameworks We hope our work will benefit those who plan and participate in work activities in a wide variety of space applications, as well as those who are interested in design and execution tools for teams of robots that can function as effective assistants to humans.

Coactive design: designing support for interdependence in joint activity

Coactive Design is a new approach to address the increasingly sophisticated roles that people and robots play as the use of robots expands into new, complex domains. The approach is motivated by the desire for robots to perform less like teleoperated tools or independent automatons and more like interdependent teammates. In this article, we describe what it means to be interdependent, why this is important, and the design implications that follow from this perspective. We argue for a human-robot system model that supports interdependence through careful attention to requirements for observability, predictability, and directability. We present a Coactive Design method and show how it can be a useful approach for developers trying to understand how to translate high-level teamwork concepts into reusable control algorithms, interface elements, and behaviors that enable robots to fulfill their envisioned role as teammates. As an example of the coactive design approach, we present our results from the DARPA Virtual Robotics Challenge, a competition designed to spur development of advanced robots that can assist humans in recovering from natural and man-made disasters. Twenty-six teams from eight countries competed in three different tasks providing an excellent evaluation of the relative effectiveness of different approaches to human-machine system design.

Automating CapCom Using Mobile Agents and Robotic Assistants

Mobile Agents (MA) is an advanced Extra-Vehicular Activity (EVA) communications and computing system to increase astronaut self-reliance and safety, reducing dependence on continuous monitoring and advising from mission control on Earth. MA is voice controlled and provides information verbally to the astronauts through programs called “personal agents.” The system partly automates the role of CapCom in Apollo-including monitoring and managing navigation, scheduling, equipment deployment, telemetry, health tracking, and scientific data collection. Data are stored automatically in a shared database in the habitat/vehicle and mirrored to a site accessible by a remote science team. The program has been developed iteratively in authentic work contexts, including six years of ethnographic observation of field geology. Analog field experiments in Utah enabled empirically discovering requirements and testing alternative technologies and protocols. We report on the 2004 system configuration, experiments, and results, in which an EVA robotic assistant (ERA) followed geologists approximately 150 m through a winding, narrow canyon. On voice command, the ERA took photographs and panoramas and was directed to serve as a relay on the wireless network.

Modeling and simulating practices, a work method for work systems design

Work systems involve people engaging in activities over time-not just with each other, but also with machines, tools, documents, and other artifacts. These activities often produce goods, services, or-as is the case in the work system described in this article-scientific data. Work systems and work practice evolve slowly over time. The integration and use of technology, the distribution and collocation of people, organizational roles and procedures, and the facilities where the work occurs largely determine this evolution.

The fundamental principle of coactive design: interdependence must shape autonomy

This article presents the fundamental principle of Coactive Design, a new approach being developed to address the increasingly sophisticated roles for both people and agents in mixed human-agent systems. The fundamental principle of Coactive Design is that the underlying interdependence of participants in joint activity is a critical factor in the design of human-agent systems. In order to enable appropriate interaction, an understanding of the potential interdependencies among groups of humans and agents working together in a given situation should be used to shape the way agent architectures and individual agent capabilities for autonomy are designed. Increased effectiveness in human-agent teamwork hinges not merely on trying to make agents more independent through their autonomy, but also in striving to make them more capable of sophisticated interdependent joint activity with people.

Modeling and Simulation for Mission Operations Work System Design

Work system analysis and design is complex and nondeterministic. In this paper we describe Brahms, a multiagent modeling and simulation environment for designing complex interactions in human-machine systems. Brahms was originally conceived as a business process design tool that simulates work practices, including social systems of work. We describe our modeling and simulation method for mission operations work systems design, based on a research case study in which we used Brahms to design mission operations for a proposed discovery mission to the Moon. We then describe the results of an actual method application project - the Brahms Mars Exploration Rover. Space mission operations are similar to operations of traditional organizations; we show that the application of Brahms for space mission operations design is relevant and transferable to other types of business processes in organizations.

Beyond Cooperative Robotics: The Central Role of Interdependence in Coactive Design

This article discusses that the concept of levels of autonomy is incomplete and insufficient as a model for designing complex human-machine teams, largely because it does not sufficiently account for the interdependence among their members. Building on a theory of joint activity, we introduce the notion of coactive design, an approach to human-machine interaction that takes interdependence as the central organizing principle among people and agents working together as a team.