A development methodology for moderately open multi-agent systems

In this work we propose a development methodology to specify Moderately Open Multi-Agent Systems. Our model has the advantage that it allows both high-and low-level behavior specifications. There is a large class of systems with reactive components that can benefit from our model; for example, monitoring and control systems, telecommuting services and e-commerce systems. Our methodology allows fast prototyping of agent-based systems in an incremental process based on roles. The methodology, a programming language, and a project manager are the structural elements of the development framework we propose. We describe and demonstrate the use of our development methodology with a real-world application example. It models a system for the collection and analysis of seismic data.