A new Hierarchical Agent Protocol Notation

Agent interaction protocols are a key aspect of the design of multiagent systems. However, commonly-used notations are, we argue, difficult to use, and lack expressiveness in certain areas. In this paper we present a new notation for expressing interaction protocols, focussing on key issues that we have found to be problematic. The notation is evaluated against criteria, and using a human subject evaluation of usability.

Authors

• Michael Winikoff
• Nitin Yadav
• Lin Padgham RMIT University; Patrick Lambrix

Keywords

• Protocol notations
• agent-based systems