Activity theory for the analysis and design of multi-agent systems

Modeling a Multi-Agent System (MAS) involves a large number of entities and relationships. This implies the need for defining an organization, in order to structure and manage the complexity of the whole system. In this work we propose the use of human organization metaphors and their application to the verification of MAS specification. In concrete, we apply Activity Theory, which has its roots in Sociology, to study agent systems and obtain relationship patterns that can be applied to the analysis of MAS. These patterns guide analysis and design refinements, and help to detect inconsistencies. This technique has been implemented and integrated in the INGENIAS IDE platform, and proved with some case studies, in particular, for agent-based web applications.