Position Paper (Problem Discussion)
Anne Banks Pidduck
apidduck@math.uwaterloo.ca
Problem Statement
Many firms are forming alliances or merging with other firms in order to
compete globally on a large scale. Each firm’s individual information
systems need to be integrated or somehow made compatible with each partner’s
systems. Even within one large firm, a number of different information
systems often must work together. This function is currently performed
by external rework of each system or by conversion of one system to the
other. Inflexible current technologies and methods make the resulting
systems inefficient, with very poor performance.
Electronic commerce and health information systems provide two application
areas of interest for this problem. Business to business commerce
transactions in particular can involve a long supply chain of partners
working together electronically. Currently, each firm must use the
same software or must adjust their system to match all of their suppliers
and all of their customers. Similarly, hospitals, pharmacies and
doctors’ offices that would like to exchange information electronically
must use the same large-scale system or must customize local systems to
match each other.
Proposed Solution
Our proposed solution is to use an agent-oriented model, design and architecture
to enable different information systems to work together. Agent-oriented
requirements engineering can use the agent to determine what is required
to make these systems compatible. Agent-oriented data integration
can be used to ensure data compatibility.
Agent technologies can be used to identify similarities and differences
among information systems. The agent starts by reading and documenting
individual features of each system. The agent then can pick the ‘best’
system or solution, based on pre-established rules. The agent can
convert one system to another or can propose simple software components,
middleware or ‘glue’ to enable the systems to work together as needed.
The agents can provide flexibility in design, unique and robust solutions,
and will be responsive to change with firm or alliance dynamics.
Research Questions
1. What are the formal steps to be taken in any system conversion or integration?
2. Which parts of a conversion can be well defined and documented?
3. Which of these parts or steps are appropriate for automation?
4. Which steps are currently most time-consuming?
5. Which steps are most likely to go wrong or cause conversion failure?
6. How can these steps be better formalized, organized and controlled?
7. What are the tasks that could be accomplished by agents?
8. What is the best way to organize agents to accomplish these tasks?
9. How do differing multi-agent structures work together?
10. Do time constraints change the proposed solution? If so,
how?