Correctness properties for multiagent systems

Abstract

What distinguishes multiagent systems from other software systems is their emphasis on the interactions among autonomous, heterogeneous agents. This paper motivates and characterizes correctness properties for multiagent systems. These properties are centered on commitments, and capture correctness at a high level. In contrast to existing approaches, commitments underlie key correctness primitives understood in terms of meaning; for example, commitment alignment maps to interoperability; commitment discharge maps to compliance. This paper gives illustrative examples and characterizations of these and other properties. The properties cover the specification of the principal artifacts-protocols, roles, and agents-of an interaction-based approach to designing multiagent systems, and thus provide the formal underpinnings of the approach. © 2010 Springer-Verlag.