Formal methods in agent-oriented software engineering

Abstract

There is a growing interest among agent and multiagent system developers for formal methods. Formal methods are means to define and realize correct specifications of multiagent system. The benefits of formal methods become clearer when we recognize the cost of developing a defective multiagent system. This paper seeks to introduce engineers to the possibilities of applying formal methods for multiagent systems. To this end, it discusses selected formal methods approaches for multiagent systems for which there is tool support. These works have been organized into two broad categories: those formal methods constituting a development method in themselves and those intended to complement an existing development method. © 2011 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.