AOSEdesigned

AOSEdesigned is a framework within agent-oriented software engineering (AOSE) that provides a structured approach to designing agent-based software systems. It offers modeling constructs, design guidelines, and activities intended to improve the clarity, traceability, and reuse of design artifacts from requirements to deployment. The term suggests a design-focused stance within AOSE, emphasizing explicit modeling of agents, goals, and organizational structures that coordinate agent behavior.

Core concepts of AOSEdesigned revolve around three interrelated levels: agents as autonomous decision-makers, the social organization of agents including roles and protocols, and the environment in which agents operate. The framework supports goal-driven design, where high-level objectives are defined for agents and progressively refined into subgoals, actions, and decision rules. It also accommodates the specification of interaction protocols, coordination mechanisms, and normative rules that guide organizational behavior and collaboration among agents.

The typical process in AOSEdesigned includes requirements elicitation and domain analysis, followed by modeling and refinement. Designers create agent types with profiles, goals, capabilities, and decision logic; define organizational structures such as roles, teams, and workflows; and specify interaction patterns and protocols. These models are then mapped to implementation artifacts and integrated with suitable agent platforms. The approach encourages traceability through artifacts such as goal models, role definitions, and protocol specifications.

Applications of AOSEdesigned are found in research and education and span domains like distributed sensing, autonomous systems, and supply-chain management. Limitations commonly cited include conceptual and practical complexity, a steeper learning curve for teams new to AOSE, and the need for adequate tooling and platform support to realize the models in concrete software.

See also: AOSE, Gaia, Tropos, JADE, agent-based modeling.