=Paper=
{{Paper
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|storemode=property
|title=Advantages of a Full Integration between Agents and Workflows
|pdfUrl=https://ceur-ws.org/Vol-989/paper06b.pdf
|volume=Vol-989
|dblpUrl=https://dblp.org/rec/conf/apn/WagnerC13
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==Advantages of a Full Integration between Agents and Workflows==
https://ceur-ws.org/Vol-989/paper06b.pdf
Advantages of a Full Integration
between Agents and Workflows
Thomas Wagner and Lawrence Cabac
University of Hamburg, MIN Faculty, Department of Informatics
http://www.informatik.uni-hamburg.de/TGI/
Abstract. This poster describes the notion of a full integration of agents
and workflows. It differentiates the term from the more common partial
integrations already well documented and researched. Finally, the advan-
tages of a full integration are discussed.
Multi-agent systems feature a very structure-centric perspective on a software
system. Agents are the main modelling abstraction, and other aspects are al-
ways seen in relation to them. Workflow systems on the other hand feature a
very behaviour-centric perspective. The main abstraction here are the work-
flows/processes, which incorporate the data/information about other aspects.
An integration of the two concepts agent and workflow can offer many advan-
tages. These advantages represent the first outcomes in our current research on
modelling systems and are the main result presented in this poster.
It is possible to differentiate between two kinds of integrations: partial and
full. In a partial integration one of the concepts is used to enhance the other
one. This includes agent-based workflow management systems (WFMS) and
workflow-based agent management systems. Partial integrations feature only one
of the two concepts main abstraction. This main abstraction may be enhanced
and enriched in a number of ways, but still remains, at its core, either an agent
or a workflow. This limits the potential benefits in a partial integration.
A full integration between agents and workflows aims to address that limit.
In contrast to partial integrations it features both agents and workflows incor-
porated into one main modelling unit. This unit can serve as agent, workflow, or
a hybrid between the two and can dynamically change its role during runtime.
We call these hybrids that provide all the functionality agents and workflows
would usually provide, including communication and user interaction facilities,
entities. Using entities enables a system modeller to dynamically switch and mix
structural and behavioural aspects of a system. This allows for a new integrated
perspective on the system during development.
There are numerous examples of partial integrations. Agent-based WFMS
are, for example, presented in [1,2]. A workflow-based agent management system
is discussed in [3]. All of these make use of both concepts to provide an enhanced
modelling experience. They still only offer extended classical workflow or agent
functionality and do not feature the possibilities of a full integration. To the best
of our knowledge there are no examples of full integrations.
354 ModBE’13 – Modeling and Business Environments
A full integration between agents and workflows exhibits a number of ad-
vantages to the system modeller. These assume an efficient and comprehensive
implementation of a full integration system (see last paragraphs for outlook).
Abstraction The abstraction of the individual concepts into one unified
entity enables a freedom to work with dynamic and hybrid constructs. Entities
can operate as agents, workflows, or something in between. They can dynamically
adapt to the requirements before, acting as an agent at one point and processing
like a workflow at another. Entities naturally and directly incorporate any and
all mechanisms, facilities, and properties of agents and workflows. Consequently,
providing these characteristics in dynamic ways becomes far easier.
Flexibility Allowing a modeller to use agents and workflows on the same
abstraction level, allows to model a system along the two dimensions structure
and behaviour. Classically, only one of these dimensions was in the foreground,
while modelling aspects of the other was heavily biased by the original dimen-
sion. This two-dimensional modelling enables a modeller to utilise the dynamic
interaction between agents and workflows on a conceptual level.
Simplicity A full integration offers the combined capabilities of agents and
workflows. It does so by providing simple-to-use and predefined constructs (en-
tities) which allow a modeller to make full use of the strengths of agents and
workflows. The entities in themselves can be used similarly to agents and work-
flows, but possess a larger spectrum of capabilities.
Expressiveness A full integration cannot necessarily express more then the
classical paradigms. However, in the classical paradigms complex helper con-
structs might be necessary to implement more complicated structures available
directly in a full integration. This means that a full integration is capable of
expressing more constructs in a natural and simple way.
Enrichment The enrichment aspect, the main advantage of partial integra-
tion, is also applicable in a full integration. In fact, it is even more emphasised,
since an entity can be improved from both its agent and workflow side.
Concerning future work the provision of a comprehensive implementation of
a full integration is the main focus. Currently, the work is centred on establishing
a working prototype as proof-of-concept. In conclusion, a full integration offers
many beneficial advantages in comparison to classical systems. When extensively
and efficiently implemented, it is a powerful tool for a system modeller to use.
References
1. P. Czarnul, M. Matuszek, M. Wójcik, and K. Zalewski. BeesyBees - efficient and
reliable execution of service-based workflow applications for BeesyCluster using dis-
tributed agents. In Proceedings of IMCSIT 2010, pages 173 –180, oct. 2010.
2. F. Hsieh. Collaborative Workflow Management in Holonic Multi-Agent Systems. In
J. O’Shea et al., editors, Agent and Multi-Agent Systems: Technologies and Appli-
cations, volume 6682 of LNCS, pages 383–393. Springer Berlin Heidelberg, 2011.
3. A. Mislevics and J. Grundspenkis. Workflow based approach for designing and
executing mobile agents. In Digital Information Processing and Communications
(ICDIPC), 2012 Second International Conference on, pages 96 –101, july 2012.