Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/1959.3/216316

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Title

Substantiating agent-based quality goals for understanding socio-technical systems

Author(s)

Pedell, Sonja;  Miller, Tim;  Sterling, Leon;  Vetere, Frank;  Howard, Steve

Abstract

In this paper we propose a method for using ethnographic field data to substantiate agent-based models for socially-oriented systems. We use the agent paradigm because the ability to represent organisations, individuals, and interactions is ideal for modelling socio-technical systems. We present the results of in-situ use of a domestic application created to encourage engagement between grandparents and grandchildren separated by distance. In such domains, it is essential to consider abstract and complex quality requirements such as showing presence and sharing fun. The success of such domestic technologies is based on the meaningful realisation of these difficult-to-define quality goals. Our method addresses the need to adequately inform these quality goals with field data. We substantiate the quality goals with field data collected by introducing an application into the home of three families. The field data adds an understanding of what sharing fun means when "filled" with concrete activities. The quality goals served as a template to explore and represent the rich field data, while the field data helped to formulate the requirements for a more complex and refined technology. This paper's contribution is twofold. First, we extend the understanding of agent-oriented concepts by applying them to household interactions. Second, we make a methodological contribution by establishing a new method for informing quality goals with field data.

Publication type

Conference paper

Research centre

Swinburne University of Technology. Faculty of Information and Communication Technologies

Source

Lecture notes in computer science: lecture notes in artificial intelligence: Advanced agent Technology: revised selected papers from the International Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multi-Agent Systems (AAMAS 2011), including the AMPLE, AOSE, ARMS, DOCM3AS and ITMAS Workshops, Taipei, Taiwan, 02-06 May 2011 / Francien Dechesne, Hiromitsu Hattori, Adriaan ter Mors, Jose Miguel Such, Danny Weyns and Frank Dignum (eds.), Vol. 7068, pp. 80-95

Publication year

2012

FOR Code(s)

08 Information and Computing Sciences

Keyword(s)

Ethnography;  Quality goals;  Socially-oriented requirements

Publisher

Springer

ISSN

0302-9743 (series ISSN)

ISBN

9783642272158, 3642272150

Publisher URL

http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27216-5_7

Copyright

Copyright © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2012. The accepted manuscript is reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher. The definitive version of the publication is available at www.springer.com.

Full text

Peer reviewed