An Application of Agent UML to Warehouse ManagementSystems

Kemal Taljanovic, M.Sc, IT architect Prof. Dr. Adnan Salihbegovic,Archway Marketing Services Faculty of Electrical Engineering,7525 Cogswell Rd. Romulus, Michigan USA University of Sarajevo, Bosniaemail: kemal taljanovic@archwamcom email: adnan.salihbegovic @etf.unsa.ba

Abstract roles were considered and describes theNew application areas such as application web services, responsibilities and objectives of each oneeCommerce, and peer-to-peer computing call for robust according to the system specification.software systems with open architectures and efficient Role Descriptionuse of resources available in the environment in which Receiver Represents a human entitythey operate. To build such systems, it is very important responsible to obtain datato have mechanisms for communication, negotiation, andcoordination between software components. Multi-agent about received material andsystem technologies and methodologies offer a guidance maintain dimensions andand support in building such software systems. The weights.agent-oriented approach to software development is still MaterialReceiving Responsible to receivein the transition from prototyping, done by researchers in material delivered bythe academic communities, to the development of large- vendors or returned byscale industrial-strength applications by software consumers.professionals. For this to succeed, methodologies are consumers.needed to systematically guide and support developers InventoryControl Responsible to maintainthrough the various stages of system development. In the accurate inventories.recent past, more than a dozen methodologies have been WavePlanning Responsible to analyseproposed, offering a range of modeling concepts, orders and maximize pickingtechniques for analysis, and tools for support. In this efficinecy.paper the application of Agent Unified Modeling WaveLaunching Responsible to launch aLanguage (A UML) to warehouse management systems is selected batch of orders.presented.. OrderShipping Comunicates with

Keywords Software Agents, MAS, AUML, WMS manifesting systems andcaptures trackinginformation.

1. Introduction ResourceManager Determines the mostAgent Unified Modeling Language (AUML) is opportune resource to

a graphical modeling language that is being execute the requestedstandardized by the Foundation for Intelligent material transfer.Physical Agents (FIPA) Modeling Technical InventoryAnalyst Represents a human entityCommittee (Modeling TC) following the idea that responsible to maintainan agent is "an object that can say 'go' and 'no"' profiles of all available[13]. Due to the differences between objects and resources.agents AUML was proposed as an extension of the Table 1. Roles in the Warehouse ManagementUnified Modeling Language (UML) in order to be Systemsable to represent the new concepts of agency. Sofar, there is no recognized standard for modeling 2 AUML mapping processmulti-agent systems (MAS), and AUML appeared AUML introduces the following extensions toas a candidate to assume such a position. In fact, UML: the new concept of roles, agent class andAUML plays a very important role to stimulate. al m .discussions in Agent-Oriented Software ne gn neato rtcldarm sEngcussionee ing communityOrnth ex ariens opposed to UML, where the role is an instance-Engineering community that experiences,'

I.1 I -11 1.'- based term. the AUML agent role is set of agentsevaluates, and contributes for it's specification [14]. bae tem th AULaetrl.i e faetIn order to study and evaluate AUML, a case study wit unqu inefcs prprte an eair

' ~~AUML class diagrams are similar to theof multi-agent system that manages warehouse corsodn UM.igas ihtedfeecopertios wssleced.Tabl 1 ummrizs wich that AUML describes agent roles or agent classes.

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AUML agent interaction protocols describecommunication pattern with an allowed sequence I)n mit R resntafios StAti Repor aint nsof messages between agents having different roles Seqec D lridifid C D dand constraints on the content of messages [10]. an lIlodit DigratP to h d behi 6Messages must satisfy standardized communicative rn Voldt thLeIdsiooafldfacts that define type and content of messages. Table _---

bjbrtj6 D-igtoigi Ob ecl$0t Dita k1nts2 describes the mapping process for AUML*] * 44£ 11 2 1S s ss ~~~~~~~~Aclllvit8 Dia&flu eaSconsidering a "waterfall model" for software

development. The following essential stages of the SiOicUi iar 6iooment piagrionswaterfall model are: requirements gathering, [ 3ia iDr m

systems analysis, design and implementation. Plus T J AUML presen tYongsign indicates that a diagram has to be created andconsulted [14]. Agentr Agent

lX ~ ~~~~~ReorMagr nven*Mrynalyst/|

3. Application ofAUML Diagrams Agent

Because AUML is only a modeling language, (not a methodology, there are no any predefinedsteps to follow when modeling MAS. An example Agen'l / \ / \ ' P<~~~~~~gent .to follow is the Huget's AUML application to Agent OrderShippingSupply Chain Management Case Study [9]. InventoryControI

/2 WVveLantunhingI I I i I IR/Aeceivr gt |

R ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~wavePlanningI ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ [ I It~ I) 9ii 4tWApIt

| ¢ | 11 lS~~c p iguic MuAlti Agenilt Datanvoupositioni ofthe WMfS Application

u | 1. u m 4. Use Case DiagramsI rIIS ,: t UML Use Case diagrams model an interaction

C13 W 1te; | | | between the information system and the users ofin s r that information system (known as actors). Since

actors are part of the world outside of theinformation system, one could say that Use Casesshow the interaction between the information

11 system and the environment in which theOmass +*l f information system operates. An actor plays a role

- - - - with regards to the information system. This role1 011Obj3 ± ±t t may be as a user of the information system or as

+ ±1- someone who plays a critical part in a use case. AI 0 ap ne Sl I+ +- - - - user of the information system can play more than

+ + one role.---- According to AUML Web Site [6], AUML's

IeTc ± ± ± Use Cases definition is "the same as specified inctilahSomior ±| + UML for now". As a consequence of that

- - - - assumption, agents can not be considered as actorsUw Cwe + + + because agents are inside the system boundaries. In

I rltc 1* - 1 ± -+ order to make Use Cases Diagrams useful for betterg ta CharW3iL +__________________________ - - understanding the scenarios, agents will be

ACtiStEvi y + +* | represented as actors. [3][4] took the same approach

F IkagI + while exposing how to design Use Case diagrams-_- - -for agent-based systems with UML 2.0.

MKico4I + +

R4iteivingI I t I III ±Pndu

A~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~eillii-t>> a41L H1Sh 0 ±

AUML ha te floingrpeettos

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5. Class Diagram particularly, the flow between elements inUML Class Diagrams show classes that the system. Statechart diagrams consider

accomplish the use case, as well as the relationships the different states of the system and howbetween those classes. Class diagrams typically to go from one state to another throughdrive object system design. UML Class Diagrams

.

consider only attributes and operations. actions. Each time actions occur, agentsAUML Class Diagrams are enhanced UML move from one state to another.

Class Diagrams that include agent behavior, in Agent states are rendered as rectangles withparticular autonomy and goal-driven execution. rounded corners. The connection between twoAUML Class Diagrams represent different agent states correspond to either an action or an event.roles and relationships between the roles. There are Action and events are within parentheses after thetwo levels of abstractions when designing class name. Actions are equivalent to methods indiagrams: the conceptual level and the programming languages explaining why they areimplementation level. The conceptual level is a written with parentheses. The initial state is idle.high-level view of the system getting rid of thedetails such as how agents are implemented. Theimplementation level is a detailed view of the id } eiv

X iiateidiasystem with all the information. System designerscan define a range of views between these twoaccording to their needs. D ollactionlat flumber Data colle;tiortfial nurriber)

iWahoue Lfo

te dl \ X~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~SeaNumboa<agent>> '[ <agei>i f e i \ ( U

<Kag~a1I» I <ag<agLp>Iet rete

Rece~iver Mat ialeFe iavo Agn

Wa~LaLrni ]7. Protocol DiagramsFiLui 3. A els dlagrtuaih for thu eoict0tUAd kVdl fbir Itb, WMS systems Interaction is a key component in multi agent

systems which allows agents to exchangeR1chcr information, cooperate, and coordinate in order to

complete their tasks. One usual method for___________________________representing interaction is protocol. An agent

S4~~~h~~i~~t interaction protocol is a set of rules that guide the

r~cn~ bbi

interaction among several agents. For a given stateof the protocol, only a finite set of messages may besent or received. If one agent is to use a given1) :iI\ ~ 'AiI~di I h ~ protocol, it must agree to conform to the protocol

Ini~w_aririiR~~iiin~ rALiv~rand obey the various rules. Moreover, it must'FiUrc 4. RppiimIkiortn I y! a comply with its semantics [8].

I a iol Of (hi Reec]' er Agit. <agenl> -,<agent<gm

MaterialRecniv,,g inventoryCon roa Re|ourc Manager6. Statechart Diagrams

Statechart diagrams describe how agents can ye et ________be affected by environment changes (Figure 5) andexpress operations and events that trigger them.Each operation belongs to a specific agent role. InI rni(errI =

Sttchr digrms asprwel astca activit andh iVa.iniflcisrm(mAternl m

diagrams~~~~~.Thse diaras alo eigestrepeset th dyamc of thei> systems

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8. Component Diagrams ,....Component diagrams show dependencies

among software components, including sourcecode, compiled code, and executable load images. ,ot,.1W ntavysIn other words, component diagrams describe thephysical elements during run-time where W Or_k Shi R

components represent elements accessible by FigureS DpmentDiagramfbrMSinterfaces. Components can be java classes, datafiles, databases, legacy software, etc. 10. Conclusion

Among the many approaches for MASmodeling, AUML is the most well-known, and itplays an important role to encourage further

I _ \ Xdiscussion. AUML was created as an attempt tohMtateriWlRecein,yitfS X>8X> h4AVa capitalize on the advantages of UML. In fact, UML

:o>--? >/ users are already familiar with most of AUMLi' __ __X __ _A, Ab features. As a descendant of UML, AUML makes

Ui1 i1 i E | ^advantage of the existing UML tools capabilities. ItIWi'vft A~SN~jav SNj.Iv od LLb PA is adequate for fast prototyping, designing systemsgN7, CoMpo,ent MutIat firMfatreianfceiviWAgent with reuse components, and new software

engineering. AUML provides designers with a richTwo types of connections are on this diagram: set of guidelines for states' activities development.

AUML has an excellent visual representation of- Association represented by a solid line events over time and explicit expression of an- Dependency represented by a dashed line interaction through timelines.

AUML has several drawbacks as well. The first oneComponent diagrams seem to be needed in MAS is a lack of AUML based Computer-Aidedsystems in order to do the compilation of agents Software Engineering (CASE) tools to design MASand to know the dependencies between the in an industrial environment. There are no availableelements. So far, there is no difference between software tools dedicated to AUML due to theAUML and UML in terms of Component and unachieved integration of AUML into RationalDeployment Diagrams, but Modeling TC is Unified Process (RUP) or other object-orientedworking on an extension of UML Deployment software methodologies. Furthermore, due to theDiagram "to provide language concepts for lack of such tools, the completeness of AUML wasmodeling mobility in analysis and design phase" never verified against industrial and real-world[8]. But despite all efforts spent in defining new applications. An AUML agent interaction protocolmetaphors, symbols and diagrammatic notations, up to (AIP) becomes hard to read if complexity grows.now, none of the existing agent oriented modeling For each agent sending a different message a newlanguages provide concepts and notations to fully timeline is needed. When n agents are sending mcapture the multi agent system deployment [12]. messages the AIP diagram has to show n timelines

and m messages on each timeline. It certainly9. Deployment Diagrams makes AIP diagram cluttered and easy to

Deployment diagrams show which hardware misinterpret.each software component is installed (or deployed). AUML future is questionable and uncertain as well.They also show the communication links between For many years, according to [1] since 2003, nothe hardware components. Deployment diagrams new development was done. Among variousare used to represent MAS configuration at run- attempts to extend UML for agents, Objecttime. These diagrams describe how agents and Management Group (OMG) recently released [6]resources are deployed on machines. Deployment UML 2.1 and OMG Systems Modeling Languagediagrams are a static view of the deployment and (SysML) which contained many of the agent-can be seen as specialized class diagrams where one related feature that AUML required.does not have classes but components, nodes, andagents.

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11. References [ 1] Odell J., et al., "Extending UML for Agents, in[1] Baldoni M. , Baroglio C., Martelli A., Patti V., Proceedings of the Agent-OrientedSchifanella C. "Verifying Protocol Conformance Information Systems"for Logic-Based Communicating Agents" Workshop at 17th National conference on ArtificialProc. Of Fifth International Workshop on Intelligence, Austin, TX, 2000.communicational Logic in Multi-Agent Systems,CLIMA V, pages 82-97 Lisbon, Portugal 2004 [12]Poggi A., Rimassa G., Turci P., Odell J.,

Mouratidis H., Manson G.[2] Bergenti F., Gleizes M., Zambonelli F. "Modeling Deployment and Mobility Issues in"Methodologies and Software Engineering for Multiagent Systems using AUML"Agent Systems: The Agent-Oriented Software Agent-Oriented Software Engineering IVEngineering Handbook (Multiagent Systems, Springer Berlin / Heidelberg, 2004Artificial Societies, and Simulated Organizations)"Publisher: Springer; 1 edition, 2004 [13] Peres Janilma, Bergmann Ulf "Experiencing

AUML for MAS Modeling: A Critical View"[3] Bauer, B. and Odell, J., "UML 2.0 and Agents: in Proc. of Software Engineering for Agent-How to Build Agent-based Systems with the new Oriented Systems (SEAS), p. 11-20., 2005UML Standard"Journal of Engineering Applications of Al, Volume [14] Silaghi C. Gheorghe "Software Engineering18, Issue 2, pp 141-157, March, 2002. Approaches for Design of Multi-Agent Systems"

in The Journal "Economy Informatics", no. 5/2005[4] Beer, M., et al, "Designing Community Care Academy of Economic Studies, BucharestSystems with AUML"Proceedings of the International Conference E.U-LAT e-Health, Cuernavaca, Mexico, 2003.

[5] Dastani M., Dix J. "Programming Multi-AgentSystem"First International Workshop proMAS 2003Melbourne, Australia 2003Selected Invited and Revised PapersSpringer, 2003

[6] FIPA Agent UML Web Site -http://www.auml.org, 2005.

[7] Greaves M., Holmback H., Bradshaw J, "Whatis a conversation policy?"Autonomous Agents'99 Special Workshop onConversation Policies, 1999. 179

[8] Huget, M.P., An Application of Agent UML toSupply Chain Management"Proceedings of the Fourth International Bi-Conference Workshop on Agent-OrientedInformation Systems, Bologna, Italy, 2002.

[9] Huget M.P., Odell J. "Representing AgentInteraction Protocols with Agent UML"AAMAS'04, pp.l244-1245, New York, NY, USA,2004.

[10] Odell J. "Recent Industrial Experiences"AgentLink III MeetingBudapest, Hungary, September 2005

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