Communication Model

The Communication Plan Specifying agent-agent transactions Transaction patterns

Role of Communication Model

specifies knowledge/information transfer procedures top-level control over task execution

multiple knowledge-intensive tasks explanation facilities

additional communication tasks

example: basic system-user interaction

Communication Model

Relation to other models

task selected in feasibility study and further detailed in Task and Agent Models

communication model

requirements specification for interaction functions

organiz ation model task model agent model

knowledgeintensive task

design model

knowledge model

requirements specification for reasoning functions

Communication Model

Input for communication modeling

Task Model

list of leaf tasks carried out by the considered agents transfer functions description of relevant agents: capabilities, responsibilities constraints.

Knowledge Model

Agent Model

Communication Model

Information systems: communication

More and more, IS are becoming information + communication systems: distributed applications (telematics) virtual organizations CSCW intelligent multi-agent systems workflow management concurrent engineering business chain management and integration

Communication Model

Communication between actors

Information modeling must cover:

Organizational/Business analysis Task/Workplace analysis Actor/Agent analysis (both human and system)

Usually, several actors cooperate in a business process or task, so

Communication model intends to capture agent interactions within a joint task

Communication Model = conceptual specification of:

what kind of information objects are exchanged between agents in cooperating in and carrying out a task, and how?

Communication Model

Communication model: overview

Task Model Task
I/O info objects ..... involved-in involved-in

Agent Model Agent

capabilities .....

Focuses on modeling the dialogue between agents

Communication Plan
part-of dialogue diagram transaction control

Transaction
identifier/name I/O info objects agents involved communication plan constraints info exchange spec part-of

Information Exchange Specification

communication type message content message control info form/medium

Structured, semiformal approach

involved-in

Task structure
transfer functions .....

Knowledge Model

Communication Model

Communication Model: overview

Layered approach to Communication Modeling Three levels:

1. The overall communication plan, which governs the full dialogue between two agents 2. The individual transactions that link two (leaf) tasks carried out by two different agents 3. The information exchange specification that details the internal message structure of a transaction

Start to construct the global overview, and fill in the details later

Communication Model

Sample application

Energy market

dynamic pricing of energy enables companies to do load management HOMEBOTS: intelligent electrical agents requires two-way communication system

kWh

kWh

utility utility

customer customer

utility utility

& info

customer customer

Communication Model

Transaction

key component of Communication Model describes what information objects are exchanged indicates agents and tasks involved go-between of two tasks carried out by different agents building blocks for the full dialogue between two agents transactions have an internal structure

example: obtain

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Other CM concepts

Communication plan

governs the full dialogue between the agents organization of transactions details transaction structure consists of messages only necessary for complex communications

Information exchange specification

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Communication Plan

easiest to begin with the overall communication plan describes full top-level dialogue typical transactions

data input asking or answering questions presentation of reasoning results explanation of results

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Communication plan activities

for each agent: list all tasks for each task: identify set of associated agent-agent transactions results combined in dialogue diagram"

DD depicts transactions between two agents

draw a DD for each combination of two agents that exchange a reasonable amount of information specify control over the transactions

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Dialogue Diagram: general structure

Agent A (e.g. user) Dialogue Agent B (e.g. system)
Task B1 Transaction Tr. 1 Task B2 Task A2 Transaction Tr. 2

Note: agent's (leaf) tasks are key entry to dialogue diagram construction

Task A1

Task A3 Transaction Tr. 3 Task A4 Task B3 Transaction Tr. 4 Task A5 Task B4

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New Customer Services: ICT Technology

Through networked microprocessors, devices can 'talk to', 'negotiate', 'make decisions', and 'cooperate' with one another.
Smart equipment agents we call homebots (inspired by Star Trek and Asimow's Robot Stories)

We use this,e.g., for distributed power load management (Further info: see separate case) Benefits:
handles much larger scale higher degree of automation & decentralized flexible approach proactive for the customer

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DD for energy market

Utility Customer

Task and transaction links in power auction are graphically sketched in the dialogue diagram:
Gives overview of the system's communication plan
Communication Model

Announce

Express Preferences

Assess

Award

Schedule

C O M M U N I C A T E

Bid

Implement

Monitor

Monitor

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CP for the housing application

assessment finished/ report decision

application received/ order assessment

application assessment

data needed/ask

data received / reply

waiting for case data

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Transactions in the Homebots System

Transaction list:
1. Kick-off the auction: sends a trigger signal to the customer agents to commence a load management action 2. Submit the bids: transmits the bids from the customer agents to the auctioneer for further processing 3. Present the awarded power allocation: informs the customer agents about the results of the auction 4. Present the associated real-time schedule: provides the customer agents with the calculated schedule that implements the awarded allocation 5. Receive the resulting real-time implementation data: transmits the actual metering data (Needed for billing and for assessing the need for further load management actions)

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Transaction control notations

state diagrams pseudo-code with special control primitives

SEND, RECEIVE CARRY-OUT (SEND/RECEIVE combination) WAIT-until/while PROCESS (task) ; (sequence) REPEAT-until/while, IF THEN ELSE & (AND), | (choice), V (OR)

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Homebots Dialogue Control

Reduction need? Announce & Kick-off

Auction Running
Next Round Interested? N Opt out Interested? Y Convergence? N Express Prefs.

Auction Completed/ Awards Distributed

Award & Present Convergence? Y

Opted Out

Preferences Calculated

Allocation Computed
Assess Bids received?

Power need? Bid & Submit

Bid Submitted

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Communication Model: Middle Level

identifier & name

Specification of individual transactions, structured in a number of components:

agents involved

communication plan

TRANSACTION

Simple worksheet techniques are helpful here

constraints information exchange specification

information objects

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Illustration Middle Level: Homebots System (II)

Submit-the-bid transaction description (Worksheet CM-1)

Identifier/Name: Transaction 2: Submit-the-bid Information objects: linking Bid and Assess tasks: (1) bid; (2) going price or going allocation (depending on domain theory) Agents involved: (1) customer agents; (2) auctioneer/utility agent Communication plan: Homebots (base version) Constraints: (1) decision procedure for bidding completeness; (2) market convergence postcondition Information Exchange Spec: See Worksheet CM-2

Note: this transaction contains more than one message, and so is composite

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Transaction Housing (1)

Transaction name Information object Agents involved Comm. Plan Constraints Informtation exchange
Order application assessment a residence application data entry + knowledge system (+ assigner) active when application arrives. Prototyping: interact with user ransaction is of the order type

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Transaction Housing (2)

Transaction name Information object Agents involved Comm. Plan Constraints Informtation exchange
Obtain application data Attribute-value pairs of an a applicant and residence database + knowledge system transitions connected to the waiting for data state Ensure mapping of data request onto DB data format transaction is of the ask-reply type.

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Composite Transactions

"I'm getting cold, so could you please shut the door?''

First part is just information: notification message Second part is request for action by the other agent: task delegation message

So, within one transaction: two messages differring in both content and intent

Transactions not only transmit content, but also an intended relationship between two agents. Both these aspects must be explicitly specified.
Compare: "Hey, idiot, shut the door, I'm getting cold!"

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Speech Acts

Agent communication languages often inspired by so-called speech act theory Makes distinctions between:

Content ('locutionary nature') of a speech act or message -what is actually being said -Intended effect ('illocutionary force') on the other agent Actual effect ('perlocutionary force') on the other agent
N.B. nice communication modeling exercises:

"It's the economy, stupid!'' Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

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Communication Model: Detail Level

Detailed message specification:

1. Content (locution): by means of a propositional statement 2. Intention (illocution): by means of typing a message
Task Delegation: Request; Require; Order; Reject-td Task Adoption: Propose; Offer; Agree; Reject-ta Pure Information Exchange: Ask; Reply; Report; Inform

Predefined types:

Note: Intention = purpose x commitment

Cf. performatives in KQML (DARPA Knowledge Sharing Effort) and esp. COSY (Daimler-Benz)

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Communication types
Task delegation Task adoption Information exchange Request Require Order Reject-td Propose Offer Agree Reject-ta Ask Reply Report Inform

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Semantics of Communication Types

Request/Propose: potential for cooperation, but agent wishes to negotiate on the terms. Loosely: `I have an interest, but not yet a commitment'. Require/Offer: agent already has made a pre-commitment, and intends to prompt the receiving agent for its commitment. This type thus denotes a conditional commitment. Order/Agree: agent has made a commitment, and thus will act accordingly. Reject-td/ta: denote that the agent does not want to commit or cooperate. Ask/Reply: have as intent a query for information from another agent, and delivery of information in return. Report: types a message sent after an agent has acted towards a (previously) agreed task goal, with the intention to let the other agent know the status of achievement (e.g. success, failure, outcome of the action). Inform: refers to a message type that just delivers information objects to another agent. Indicates an independent informative action: no previous request or agreement involved.

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Typed Message Patterns

Not only typing of single messages possible. Also, natural chains of message types can be formed (cf. COSY): Communication type patterns Communication Patterns
INFORM ORDER REQUIRE REQUEST

1)

REPORT
3)

AGREE
5)

REJECT-ta

PROPOSE

OFFER
7)

REJECT-ta

ASK

AGREE

OFFER

PROPOSE

REPLY

REPORT

ORDER

REJECT-td

REQUEST

REQUIRE
8)

REJECT-td

2)

4)

6)

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Worksheet CM-2: Information Exchange Specification

Only needed for complex communication patterns

energy market Transaction Identifier/Name Agents involved: sender, receiver Information items Message specification Message control

Worksheet structure

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Transaction submit-the-bid: message specifications

Bid-message

Auction-data-message

type:PROPOSE content: bid from: customer agent to: auctioneer

type: INFORM content: market data from: auctioneer to: customer agent
type: REQUEST content: trigger next round from: auctioneer to: customer agent

Opt-out-message

Next-round-message

type: REJECT-TA content: no part from: customer agent to: auctioneer

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Information items

role:

core object support item

explanation texts of domain material

rock photographs, mineral photographs

reasoning traces WHY/HOW explanations

syntactic form: data string, diagram, ... medium: pop-up window, command-line interface, human intervention,

cf. Design issues

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Control over messages

Refinement of control in communication plan Notations: the same

State diagram Pseudo code

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Transaction: submit-the-bid
REPEAT WHILE <market convergence condition not satisfied> IF <interest in load management> THEN PROCESS(bid-task); SEND(BID-MESSAGE) ELSE SEND(OPT-OUT-MESSAGE) END-IF IF <bids received> THEN PROCESS(assess-task) ELSE PROCESS(decision subprocedure [e.g. WAIT...]) END-IF SEND(AUCTION-DATA-MESSAGE) & SEND(NEXT-ROUND-MESSAGE) END-REPEAT

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Validation techniques

Communication-plan walk-through

adequacy transaction structure completeness list of information items need for help or explanation experimental technique to validate interaction mock-up software

Wizard-of-Oz technique

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Nielsen's guidelines for usability engineering

Present a simple and natural dialogue Speak the user's language Minimize the user's memory load Maintain consistency in terminology Give feedback about what is going on Show clearly marked exits from unwanted states Offer shortcuts for the experienced user ..

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Guidelines for balancing the communication model

Key inputs:

leaf tasks TM transfer function KM

Take agent capabilities into account (see AM) syntactic form of media is area of both CM and DM

guideline: in CM if conceptual reason not in design model

Decide here about support information

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Communication model activities

Identify core information objects to be exchanged between agents Identify associated transactions Draw important dialogue diagrams Combine this to a full communication plan Specify the individual transactions

worksheets CM-1 and CM-2

Validate and balance the model

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