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International Bi-Conference Workshop on Agent-Oriented Information Systems

AOIS 2005: Agent-Oriented Information Systems III pp 111–123Cite as

Foundations of Ontology-Based MAS Methodologies

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Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNAI,volume 3529))

Abstract

Support for software extensibility, interoperability and reuse are critical concerns for long term commercial viability of any MAS and they underpin the eventual adoption of agent technology by industry. Existing AOSE methodologies lack adequate support for these concerns. We argue in this paper that a methodology that uses ontologies as a central modelling artifact, beyond the analysis phase, is better equipped to address those concerns.

We observe that the influence of ontologies in Knowledge-based Systems (KBS) methodologies extended well beyond the initial analysis phase, leading to domain-independent KBS methodologies in the ’90s. We reflect on those lessons and on the roles of ontologies in KBS development. We analyse and identify which of those roles can be transferred to an ontology-based MAS development methodology. We identify ontology-related inter-dependencies between the analysis and design phases. We produce a set of recommendations towards creating a domain-independent MAS methodology that incorporates ontologies beyond the analysis phase. We identify the essential features and sketch the characteristic tasks within both the analysis and design phases.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Economics and Information Systems, University of Wollongong, Australia

    G. Beydoun

  2. School of Information Management and Technology Management, University of New South Wales, Australia

    N. Tran & G. Low

  3. Faculty of Information Technology, University of Technology, Australia

    B. Henderson-Sellers

Authors
  1. G. Beydoun
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  2. N. Tran
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  3. G. Low
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  4. B. Henderson-Sellers
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. ISYS- Information Systems Research Unit, IAG-Louvain School of Management, Université catholique de Louvain, 1348, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium

    Manuel Kolp

  2. European Commission, DG Information Society and Media, Unit D3: Software Technologies, Avenue de Beaulieu 29, level 4, office 49,, 1049, Brussels, Belgium

    Paolo Bresciani

  3. Faculty of Information Technology, University of Technology, 2000, Sydney, Broadway, NSW, Australia

    Brian Henderson-Sellers

  4. Higher Education Development Centre, University of Otago, P.O. Box 56, Dunedin, New Zealand

    Michael Winikoff

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Beydoun, G., Tran, N., Low, G., Henderson-Sellers, B. (2006). Foundations of Ontology-Based MAS Methodologies. In: Kolp, M., Bresciani, P., Henderson-Sellers, B., Winikoff, M. (eds) Agent-Oriented Information Systems III. AOIS 2005. Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 3529. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/11916291_8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/11916291_8

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-540-48291-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-540-48292-5

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

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