A methodology for developing an agent systems reference architecture

Abstract

The slow adoption of agent-oriented methodologies as a paradigm for developing industry systems is due in part to their lack of integration and general-purpose use. There exists a need to define common patterns, relationships between components, and structural qualities that a reference architecture for agent-based systems would solve. However, there is little, if any, consensus on how to create a reference architecture for agent-based systems. This paper presents a methodology for developing a reference architecture that documents agent-based systems from different system viewpoints. Rather than the traditional approach of studying existing systems, the documentation methodology relies on forensic software analysis of agent frameworks (i.e., APIs and libraries for constructing agent systems). We demonstrate the methodology by describing the process used to create the Agent System Reference Architecture. © 2011 Springer-Verlag.