ABVE-Frame: An agent-based virtual enterprise development framework
What is it about?
The paper presents a methodological framework (ABVE-Frame) for the development of virtual enterprises based on intelligent agents that are implemented as a simulation. The framework combines an agent-based approach with an ontological approach being flexible enough to be adapted for a specific application domain. The VE lifecycle phases (creation, operation and evolution, dissolution) are mapped on the agent-based VE development lifecycle and are described as a set of algorithms.
Why is it important?
The proposed framework provides guidelines (detailed as a set of algorithms) that can be used to develop virtual enterprises based on intelligent agents and to implement them as a simulation. A formal description of the agent-based virtual enterprise model (ABVE-Model) is introduced in the paper and a case study of applying the framework to the IT domain for computer networks development is discussed.