Theory of deferred action: Agent-based simulation model for designing complex adaptive systems

Deferred action is the axiom that agents act in emergent organisation to achieve predetermined goals. Enabling deferred action in designed artificial complex adaptive systems like business organisations and IS is problematical. Emergence is an intractable problem for designers because it cannot be predicted. We develop proof-of-concept, conceptual proto-agent model, of emergent organisation and emergent IS to understand better design principles to enable deferred action as a mechanism for coping with emergence in artefacts. We focus on understanding the effect of emergence when designing artificial complex adaptive systems by developing an exploratory proto-agent model and evaluate its suitability for implementation as agent-based simulation

Using situation theory to model information flow in design

Information flow is intensive during a design process, where delivering timely and appropriate information is required. Sonnenwald [2] identified 13 communication roles that emerged during four multidisciplinary design situations in the USA and Europe. She statedthat participants from different disciplines, organisations and cultures come to the design situation with pre-existing patterns of working activities, and specialised work languages. Different methods to represent information flow activities are used, varying in different companies, different disciplines, and different teams, which may cause misunderstandings particularly among design teams composed of different organisations. In this sense, it is important to present information flow in a rigorous way. Eastman and Shirley [3] developed amodel of design information flow. The model dealt with design information management, reflecting entities, constraints, design states, design document accessed modes, transactions, and version identifiers. But, the development of their model was not based upon a theoretical foundation. In this paper, we develop an alternative model to present information flow indesign based on a foundation of situation theory. The model may serve to analysis design information system and provide a basis for investigating the situatedness of designinformation flow. To be able to represent information flow we should firstly study its phenomena. Based on Sim's formalism of design activities, the theory of Speech Acts, Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW, and other works studying information flow, an example model for information flow in design is developed. A discussion of the strengths and weaknesses of this representation method is carried out

The theory of deferred action: Designing organisations and systems for complexity

Organization and systems are real, complex entities but the science of designing them should be simple. This book explores the process of organization and systems design by redefining and extending formalism capable of representing both purposeful structure and operational needs. The author proposes the notion of deferred action to cohere rationally designed systems with actual action. Researchers will glean radically different epistemological and ontological perspectives while designers will acquire entirely different intellectual tools, principles and mechanisms of design. Managers should learn to think of organization and systems differently and possibly change their management approach

Organization of Multi-Agent Systems: An Overview

In complex, open, and heterogeneous environments, agents must be able to reorganize towards the most appropriate organizations to adapt unpredictable environment changes within Multi-Agent Systems (MAS). Types of reorganization can be seen from two different levels. The individual agents level (micro-level) in which an agent changes its behaviors and interactions with other agents to adapt its local environment. And the organizational level (macro-level) in which the whole system changes it structure by adding or removing agents. This chapter is dedicated to overview different aspects of what is called MAS Organization including its motivations, paradigms, models, and techniques adopted for statically or dynamically organizing agents in MAS.Comment: 12 page