A perspective on software agents research

Nwana, Hyacinth S.; Ndumu, Divine T.

doi:10.1017/s0269888999142012

Cited by 145 publications

(54 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…Adaptability refers to the system"s capability "being able to learn a user"s preferences and habits over time and adapt to the changing needs of the user" (Nwana & Ndumu, 1999, P. 134) and is one of the desirable features of personal agent (Nwana & Ndumu, 1999). Responding to the changes in their environment is one of the software agent attributes (Wooldridge & Jennings, 1995).…”

Section: Adaptabilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

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Supporting decision making process with “ideal” software agents – What do business executives want?

Duan

Ong

et al. 2012

Expert Systems with Applications

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According to H. Simon"s (1977) decision making theory, intelligence is the first and most important phase in the decision making process. With the escalation of information resources available to business executives, it is becoming imperative to explore the potential and challenges of using agent-based systems to support the intelligence phase of decision-making. This research examines UK executives" perceptions of using agentbased support systems and the criteria for design and development of their "ideal" intelligent software agents.The study adopted an inductive approach using focus groups to generate a preliminary set of design criteria of "ideal" agents. It then followed a deductive approach using semi-structured interviews to validate and enhance the criteria. This qualitative research has generated unique insights into executives" perceptions of the design and use of agent-based support systems. The systemic content analysis of qualitative data led to the proposal and validation of design criteria at three levels. The findings revealed the most desirable criteria for agent based support systems from the end users" point view. The design criteria can be used not only to guide intelligent agent system design but also system evaluation.

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Section: Adaptabilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, there has been strong criticism that "there is a truly dearth of such work in the literature that reports on real users" views on specific personal agents " ( (Nwana & Ndumu, 1999) p.136). Not much progress appears to have been made to address this criticism since.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Supporting decision making process with “ideal” software agents – What do business executives want?

Duan

Ong

et al. 2012

Expert Systems with Applications

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“…The hypothesis or goal of multi-agent systems is: creating a system that interconnects separately developed agents, thus, enabling the ensemble to function beyond the capabilities of any singular agent in the systems. In multi-agent systems, some issues such as: agent communications, agent coordination, and inference must be considered (Nwana & Ndumu 1999). For agents to communicate with each other, an agent communication language (ACL) is needed.…”

Section: Multi Agent Systems and Agent-based Supply Chain Managementmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fuzzy Multiple Agent Decision Support Systems for Supply Chain Management

Zarandi¹,

Zarandi²

2008

Supply Chain

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“…Advances in artificial intelligence and other information technologies have led to the development of software agents (SAs) with capabilities beyond those of traditional software applications (Aljukhadar et al, 2012;Benbasat, 2010;Hess et al, 2000;Maes, 1994;Nwana and Ndumu, 1999;Parkes, 2012;Reisen and Hoffrage, 2010;Wang and Benbasat, 2007). SAs may provide recommendations, work autonomously to make decisions and complete tasks without intervention by the user, adapt to changes in their environment, and communicate and work with other agents or users (Featherman and Pavlou, 2003;Hess et al, 2000;Maes, 1995;Milewski and Lewis, 1997;Parkes, 2012;Schiaffino and Amandi, 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Buck Stops There: The Impact of Perceived Accountability and Control on the Intention to Delegate to Software Agents

Stout¹,

Dennis²,

Wells³

2014

THCI

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Software agents with the ability to recommend actions, aid decision-making, and actually make decisions are becoming increasingly common. In many situations, users now choose whether or not to delegate tasks to these agents. While some research has examined software agents, relatively little is known about the factors that influence the intention to delegate decisions to them. An experiment was used to examine the influence of perceived accountability, extent of control, and trust in the agent on the intention to delegate a travel arrangement decision. Users were more likely to delegate to agents that gave them greater control by requiring them to approve the agent's recommendation before the decision was completed than to agents that performed the task autonomously without intervention after it was delegated. Contrary to expectations, intention to delegate increased as perceived accountability increased. Participants may perceive delegation as a means to shift blame from themselves to the agent and thus mitigate risk resulting from potential negative decision outcomes.

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A perspective on software agents research

Abstract: Abstract

Cited by 145 publications

References 29 publications

Supporting decision making process with “ideal” software agents – What do business executives want?

Supporting decision making process with “ideal” software agents – What do business executives want?

Fuzzy Multiple Agent Decision Support Systems for Supply Chain Management

The Buck Stops There: The Impact of Perceived Accountability and Control on the Intention to Delegate to Software Agents

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