Organizational models and interaction patterns for use in the analysis and design of multi-agent systems

Abstract

A group of organizational models for multi-agent systems are described in which an interaction pattern plays a central role. From the models we have developed, we can easily 1) identify the roles, their responsibilities and interaction protocols in which they are involved and 2) capture agents, their services and their communication capabilities. Furthermore, by relating all of those models together, we can obtain an overall view about a multi-agent system. Thus, when building multi-agent systems, developing those organizational models are the main tasks for analysis and design. These theoretical developments are illustrated with an example system for making airline bookings.