Defining syntax and providing tool support for agent uml using a textual notation

Abstract: An important role in software engineering is played by design notations. The Agent UML (AUML) notation for sequence diagrams has been widely used to capture the design of interactions between agents. However, AUML is not precisely defined, and there is very little in the way of tool support available. We argue that using a textual notation allows the notation to be precisely defined, and facilitates the development of tool support. We present a textual notation that we have developed, and describe a number of tools that support this notation. One of these tools is a ‘renderer ’ which takes a textual AUML protocol and generates the standard graphical view. The layout of graphical elements in the generated graphical view is done automatically, using a layout algorithm which we present

Eclipse-based prometheus design tool

The Prometheus Design Tool (PDT) is a graphical tool that is used to design a Multi-Agent System following the Prometheus Methodology. This paper describes the latest version of PDT which is now integrated into the Eclipse platform, enabling the users to accomplish the full development life-cycle of an agent-oriented application in one IDE and also inherit the rich set of product development features that Eclipse provides. This version of PDT also aims to support simpler integration with tools from other AOSE methodologies where appropriate

Application of Model-driven engineering to multi-agent systems: a language to model behaviors of reactive agents

Many users of multi-agent systems (MAS) are very commonly disinclined to model and simulate using current MAS platforms. More specifically, modeling the dynamics of a system (in particular the agents' behaviors) is very often a challenge to MAS users. This issue is more often observed in the domain of socio-ecological systems (SES), because SES domain experts are rarely programmers. Indeed, the majority of MAS platforms were not conceived taking into consideration domain-experts who are non-programmers. Most current MAS tools are not dedicated to SES, or nor do they possess an easily understandable formalism to represent the behaviors of agents. Moreover, because it is platform-dependent, a model realized in a given MAS platform cannot be properly used on another platform due to incompatibility between MAS platforms. To overcome these limitations, we propose a domain-specific language (DSL) to describe the behaviors of reactive agents, regardless of the MAS platform used for simulation. To achieve this result, we used model-driven engineering (MDE), an approach that provides tools to develop DSLs from a meta-model (abstract syntax), textual editors with syntax highlighting (for the concrete syntax) and code generation capabilities (for source-code generation of a model). As a result, we implemented a language and a textual editor that allow SES domain experts to describe behaviors in three different ways that are close to their natural expression: as equations when they are familiar with these, as a sequence of activities close to natural language or as an activity diagram to represent decisions and a sequence of behaviors using a graphic formalism. To demonstrate interoperability, we also developed code generators targeting two different MAS platforms (Cormas and Netlogo). We tested the code generators by implementing two SES models with the developed DSL. The generated code was targeted to both MAS platforms (Cormas and Netlogo), and successfully simulated in one of them. We conclude that the MDE approach provides adequate tools to develop DSL and code generators to facilitate MAS modeling and simulation by non-programmers. Concerning the DSL developed, although the behavioral aspect of MAS simulation is part of the complexity of modeling in MAS, there are still other essential aspects of model and simulation of MAS that are yet to be explored, such as model initialization and points of view on the model simulated worl

AUML protocols and code generation in the Prometheus design tool

Prometheus is an agent-oriented software engineering methodology. The Prometheus Design Tool (PDT) is a software tool that supports a designer who is using the Prometheus methodology. PDT has recently been extended with two significant new features: support for Agent UML interaction protocols, and code generation

An Extension of Business Process Model and Notation for Security Risk Management

Kaasaegsed infosüsteemide arendamise metoodikad hõlmavad erinevaid tehnilisi äriprotsesside modelleerimise meetmeid. Äriprotsesside modelleerimiseks kasutatav keel (BPMN) on tänapäeval muutunud üheks standartseks meetmeks, mis edukalt rakendatakse infosüsteemide loomisel ning edasi arendamisel selleks, et ettevõtete äriprotsesse kirjeldada ja modelleerida.Vaatamata sellele, et BPMN on hea töörist, mille abil on võimalik ettevõtte äriprotsesse mõistma ja esitama, see ei võimalda äriprotsesside modelleerimisel adresseerida süsteemi turvalisuse aspekte. Autor leiab, et see on BPMN nõrk külg, selle pärast, et turvalise infosüsteemi arendamiseks on oluline nii äriprotsesse kui ka süsteemi turvalisust vaadeldada tervikuna. Käesolevas magistritöös autor töötab välja BPMN 2.0 keele jaoks uusi elemente, mis edaspidi peavad võimaldama adresseerima turvalisuse temaatika süsteemi modelleerimisel. Autori pakutud lahendus põhineb BPMN modelleerimiskeele seostamisel turvalisuse riski juhendamise metoodikaga (ISSRM). Antud magistritöös rakendatakse struktureeritud lähenemine BPMN peamiste aspektide analüüsimisel ja turvalisuse riskide juhtimiseks uute elementide väljatöötamisel, selleks ühildades BPMN ning ISSRM-i kontsepte. Magistritöös on demonstreeritud väljatöötatud lisaelementide kasutus, selgitatud kuidas antud elementidega laiendatud BPMN võimaldab väljendada ettevõtte varasid (assets), nendega seotuid riske (risks) ja riskide käsitlust (risk treatment). See on analüüsitud internetkaupluse varade konfidentsiaalsuse, terviklikkuse ja kättesaadavuse näitel. Autor on veendunud, et BPMN laienemine turvalisuse kontseptide osas ja antud töö raames tehtud konkreetsed ettepanekud aitavad infosüsteemide analüütikutele mõistma kuidas süsteemi turvalisust arendada nii, et läbi äriprotsessi tuvastatud olulisemate ettevõtte varade turvalisus oleks infosüsteemis käsitletud ning tagatud. Autori poolt antud käsitlus on vaadeldud ka laiemas mõttes, nimelt, BPMN keelele pakutud laienemisega avaneb perspektiiv äriprotsesside ja turvalisuse mudeleite koosvõimele ning BPMN-i teiste modelleerimise metoodikatega, nagu ISSRM või Secure Tropos, integreerimisele.Modern Information System (IS) development supports different techniques for business process modelling. Recently Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN) has become a standard that allows modelers to visualize organizational business processes. However, despite the fact that BPMN is a good approach to introduce and understand business processes, there is no opportunity to address security concerns while analysing the business needs. This is a problem, since both business processes and security concerns should be understood in parallel to support a development of the secure systems. In current thesis we introduce the extensions for BPMN 2.0 regarding security aspects. The following proposal is based on alignment of the modelling notation with IS security risk management (ISSRM).We apply a structured approach to understand major aspects of BPMN and propose extensions for security risk management based on the BPMN alignment to the ISSRM concepts. We demonstrate the use of extensions, illustrating how the extended BPMN could express assets, risks and risk treatment on few running examples related to the Internet store assets’ confidentiality, integrity and availability. We believe that our proposal would allow system analysts to understand how to develop security requirements to secure important assets defined through business processes. We also attempt to observe the following approach in the broader sense and we open a possibility for the business and security model interoperability and the model transformation between BPMN and another modelling approach also aligned to ISSRM, Secure Tropos

A model driven component agent framework for domain experts

Industrial software systems are becoming more complex with a large number of interacting parts distributed over networks. Due to the inherent complexity in the problem domains, most such systems are modified over time to incorporate emerging requirements, making incremental development a suitable approach for building complex systems. In domain specific systems it is the domain experts as end users who identify improvements that better suit their needs. Examples include meteorologists who use weather modeling software, engineers who use control systems and business analysts in business process modeling. Most domain experts are not fluent in systems programming and changes are realised through software engineers. This process hinders the evolution of the system, making it time consuming and costly. We hypothesise that if domain experts are empowered to make some of the system cha nges, it would greatly ease the evolutionary process, thereby making the systems more effective. Agent Oriented Software Engineering (AOSE) is seen as a natural fit for modeling and implementing distributed complex systems. With concepts such as goals and plans, agent systems support easy extension of functionality that facilitates incremental development. Further agents provide an intuitive metaphor that works at a higher level of abstraction compared to the object oriented model. However agent programming is not at a level accessible to domain experts to capitalise on its intuitiveness and appropriateness in building complex systems. We propose a model driven development approach for domain experts that uses visual modeling and automated code generation to simplify the development and evolution of agent systems. Our approach is called the Component Agent Framework for domain-Experts (CAFnE), which builds upon the concepts from Model Driven Development and the Prometheus agent software engineering methodolo gy. CAFnE enables domain experts to work with a graphical representation of the system, which is easier to understand and work with than textual code. The model of the system, updated by domain experts, is then transformed to executable code using a transformation function. CAFnE is supported by a proof-of-concept toolkit that implements the visual modeling, model driven development and code generation. We used the CAFnE toolkit in a user study where five domain experts (weather forecasters) with no prior experience in agent programming were asked to make changes to an existing weather alerting system. Participants were able to rapidly become familiar with CAFnE concepts, comprehend the system's design, make design changes and implement them using the CAFnE toolkit