Publication - Analyzing, Modeling and Predicting Organizational Effects in a Distributed Sensor Network

Authors: Horling, Bryan; and Lesser, Victor
Title: Analyzing, Modeling and Predicting Organizational Effects in a Distributed Sensor Network
Abstract: The organizational design of a distributed system defines how entities act and interact to achieve local and global objectives. We describe how a system employing different types of organizational techniques has been used to address the challenges posed by a distributed sensor network environment. The high-level, multi-agent architecture of this real-world system is given in detail, and we provide empirical results demonstrating the effects the organization has on the system�s performance across several different metrics. As with any design, the particular approach that is employed makes trade-offs, some of which are obvious and some more subtle. The presence of such trade-offs motivates the need for a better understanding of precisely how the organization influences large and small-scale behaviors. To address this need, we first demonstrate how a collection of analytic models can be developed to predict such effects. This experience is then used to ground the presentation of a more comprehensive, domain-independent organizational modeling language called ODML. The structure and capabilities of ODML are explained through the construction of a unified model of our sensor network organization. We then show that this model provides an accurate prediction of the original empirical results.
Keywords: ANTs, Organizational Design
Publication: Journal of the Brazilian Computer Society, Special Issue on Agents Organizations, Vol: 11, Num: 1, pp. 9 - 30
Date: July 2005
Sources: PDF: /Documents/bhorling/jbraz05.pdf
Reference: Horling, Bryan; and Lesser, Victor. Analyzing, Modeling and Predicting Organizational Effects in a Distributed Sensor Network. Journal of the Brazilian Computer Society, Special Issue on Agents Organizations, Volume 11, Number 1, pp. 9-30. July 2005.
bibtex:
@article{Horling-379,
  author    = "Bryan Horling and Victor Lesser",
  title     = "{Analyzing, Modeling and Predicting Organizational
               Effects in a Distributed Sensor Network}",
  journal   = "Journal of the Brazilian Computer Society, Special
               Issue on Agents Organizations",
  volume    = "11",
  number    = "1",
  pages     = "9-30",
  month     = "July",
  year      = "2005",
  url       = "http://mas.cs.umass.edu/paper/379",
}