Modeling of Agent Behavior Using Behavioral Specifications

The behavioral dynamics of a cognitive agent can be considered both from an external and an internal perspective. From the external perspective, behavior is described by specifying (temporal) correlations between input and output states of the agent. From the internal perspective the agent’s dynamics can be characterized by direct (causal) temporal relations between internal, mental states of the agent. The latter type of specifications can be represented in executable format, which allows performing simulations of the agent’s behavior under different (environmental) circumstances. For enabling simulations when only given an external behavioral specification, this has to be transformed first into executable format, and subsequently into a transition system description. An automated procedure for such a transformation is proposed in this paper. The application of the transformation procedure is demonstrated by two simulation examples addressing delayed response behavior and adaptive behavior

Verifying Interlevel Relations within Multi-Agent Systems

An approach to handle the complex dynamics of a multi-agent system is based on distinguishing aggregation levels by structuring the system into parts or components. The behavior of every aggregation level is specified by a set of dynamic properties for components and interactions at that level, expressed in some (temporal) language. The dynamic properties of higher aggregation levels in principle can be logically related to dynamic properties of lower levels. This asks for identification and verification of such interlevel relations. In this article it is shown how this problem can be addressed using model checking techniques

Process-Oriented Organization Modeling and Analysis Based on Constraints

This paper presents a formal framework for process-oriented modeling and analysis of organizations. The high expressivity of a sorted predicate logic language Lpr used for specification allows representing a wide range of process-related concepts (e.g., tasks, processes, resources), their characteristics and relations over them, which are described in the paper. Furthermore, every organization is characterized by a set of structural and behavioral constraints, which are classified in this paper. In the proposed framework these constraints form a logical theory Tpr in Lpr, i.e. a set of formulae in Lpr. A process-oriented model is correct iff it satisfies Tpr. The techniques for establishing correctness are implemented and described in the paper. The introduced framework is a part of a general framework for organization modeling and analysis

Formal Analysis of Cognitive Agent Behavior: formal theoretical basis

In cognitive systems the behavior of an actor (an agent) can be considered from both an external and an internal perspective. This paper contributes an automated procedure for translating a given external behavioral specification into an executable specification of internal dynamics, by which the external behavioral properties are entailed. Having an executable internal dynamics specification allows automated analysis of an agent's behavior, based on model checking techniques. By a paradigmatic example it is shown how the developed approach can be applied

Operators for Formal Modelling of Organizations

Organizational design is an important topic in the literature on organizations. Usually the design principles are addressed informally in this literature. This paper makes a first attempt to formally introduce design operators to formalize the design steps in the process of designing organizations. These operators help an organization designer create an organization design from scratch as well as offer the possibility to revise existing designs of organizations. The operators offer both top-down refinements and bottom-up grouping options. Importantly, the operators can be combined into complex operators that can serve as patterns for larger steps in an organization design process. The usability of the design operators is demonstrated in a running example. The contribution of this paper provides a solid basis for the development of a software environment supporting interactive organization design processes. This is demonstrated by an implemented prototype example tool

Verifying Interlevel Relations within Organizational Models

In this paper the formal theoretical basis used for transformation of a non-executable external behavioral specification for an organizational model into an executable format, required for enabling verification techniques, is explained in detail