This technical paper proposes an agent-architecture, based on the Matrix methodology, in order to achieve process improvement and complexity management with respect to roll-pass design.

The authors examine the autonomous agent systems that support both reactive and proactive behaviors. The proposed agent system is organized into three levels: base, composite, and high-level agent services. The agent functionality is defined by global and local schemes. A global scheme for the description is based on the semantic of one size fits all, whereas a local scheme focuses on certain groups of agents working on certain categories of problems of which other agents may not be involved. Furthermore, the proposed system works on two assumptions: agents are trustworthy, and agents are cooperative. The authors provide a brief introduction to their work, software agents, and software architecture. This is followed by a description of agent-functionality and an assessment.

I found this to be a very well written and thoughtful paper on a timely subject. The authors¿ work is meticulous. For anyone interested in agent software architecture (ASA), this is a must-read paper.