Automated Requirements-Driven Definition of Norms for the Regulation of Behavior in Multi-Agent Systems

Abstract

The engineering of heterogeneous distributed systems is a complex task. Traditional software engineering methods fail to account for new demands of flexibility and adaptability in the construction of software systems. On the other hand, concepts of Virtual Organizations and Electronic Institutions cater for the need of open, heterogeneous software environments, where agents may dynamically organize themselves into organizational structures, determined by roles, norms and contracts. Our work aims to facilitate the engineering of heterogeneous and distributed systems by providing only a specification of the desired overall system behavior, expressed as a set of norms, and rely on capabilities and properties of individual agents that allow them to dynamically form the desired complete software system. In particular, we present a framework, called Requirement-driven Contracting (RdC), for automatically deriving executable norms from requirements and associated relevant information. RdC facilitates the governance of MAS by ensuring that all requirements, along with runtime changes of requirements are appropriately and automatically reflected in the norms regulating the behavior of MAS.