A Preliminary Comparative Feature Analysis of Multi-agent Systems Development Methodologies

Quynh-Nhu Numi Tran, Graham Low, Mary-Anne Williams

Abstract: While there are a considerable number of software engineering methodologies for developing multi-agent systems, not much work has been reported on the evaluation and comparison of these methodologies. This paper presents a comparative analysis of five well-known MAS-development methodologies. The comparison is based on a feature analysis framework published previously. This framework allows the comparative analysis to be made on a variety of evaluation criteria, covering both agent-oriented aspects and system engineering dimensions. The analysis also compares the methodologies in terms of their support for the steps in the development process and for agent-oriented concept modeling.