ABVE-Frame: An agent-based virtual enterprise development framework

Abstract

The paper presents a methodological framework, ABVE-Frame, for the development of virtual enterprises based on intelligent agents that are implemented as a simulation. The proposed framework combines an agent-based approach with an ontological approach and is flexible enough to be adapted for a specific domain of application. The VE lifecycle phases (creation, operation and evolution, dissolution) are mapped on the agent-based VE development lifecycle and are described as a set of algorithms. A formal description of the agent-based VE model (ABVE-Model) is proposed and a case study of applying the framework to the IT domain for computer networks development is discussed.

Keywords

Virtual enterprise intelligent agents ontology VE lifecycle development framework

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