Model driven approach for real-time requirement analysis of multi-agent systems

Software systems can fail when requirement constraints are overlooked or violated. With the increased complexity of software systems, software development has become more reliant on model driven development. The paper advocates a model driven approach to ensure real-time requirement constraints are taken into account prior to the design of a multi-agent system (MAS). The paper presents the synthesis of a real-time metamodel to support requirements analysis of a MAS. The metamodel describes a collection of modelling units and constraints that can be used to identify the real-time requirements of a multi-agent system during the analysis phase. The paper takes the view that the earlier you model real-time requirements in the software development life cycle, the more reliable and robust the resultant system will be. Furthermore, the more likely it is an appropriate balance between competing time requirements will be achieved. The paper also presents a validation of the metamodel in a Call Management MAS application. This provides a preliminary evidence of the coverage and validity of the metamodel presented.