The System Generic Design Architecture

The system generic design architecture supported by the generic design framework which aims at providing the support for the ad hoc integrated WSN-RFID design, configuration and deployment capabilities, is based on the integration of existing and new web services, and a rule-based framework with procedural attachments for domain analysis, to support the hybrid intelligent web-based service decision support system architecture shown in Figure 4.3, and the service management involving connections with the system control issues and requiring a panoply of support capabilities categorized and illustrated in Figure 4.5.

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Figure 4.5: System generic design framework

4.3.3.1. The Service Catalogue

The service catalogue is an open centralised support containing all the core services elaborated by the service process which is a key step in the system generic design, and identifies internal processes necessary to provide and support the core services. This process integrates new services to existing ones, and is made up of the following four steps:

 Service description,

 Service help,

 Service support and

 Service delivery.

Service cost and pricing is an additional step that is carried out to show how the service can be supported and delivered.

4.3.3.2. The Third Party Capabilities

Third party tools include:

 Additional attachment procedures about the knowledge domain,

 Mathematical models and tools for interactive multi-attribute decision making with incompletely identified information, where the incomplete information becomes the set of

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constraints in the models, and examining the dominance structure of all alternatives to apply the weak dominance technique for alternative selection at the choice step of the decision making process.

 Core services layer, containing high level features and generic core services frameworks which are necessary to enhance the service framework effectiveness and efficiency. High level features include:

 Peer-to-Peer Services to support multi-peer connectivity to initiate communications sessions with nearby devices.

 Block Objects Services to incorporate additional functions to be executed with associated data for facilitating performing knowledge tasks.

 Core Data services aimed at supporting the management of the data model, using a data model view controller service application. This role of control is essential for the support of the data warehousing in terms of:

o validation of data values,

o propagating the data changes and ensuring the data integrity and the consistency of the relationships between objects, and

o aggregating by grouping, filtering, and organizing data in multi-distributed configurations.

4.3.3.3. The Web-Based Group Decision Support System Capabilities

A web-based group decision support system is the heart of this conceptual framework, providing data marts illustrated in Figure 3.4, needed by mechanisms aimed at supporting knowledge processes, reducing disagreement and facilitating consensus on interpretations by decision-making groups of agents including people, smart devices and software agents [199].

Many of them are embodied in the generic information and communication technology core services listed in the section below, involving fast and flexible access to knowledge, model and databases.

4.3.3.4. The knowledge Domain Analysis

In knowledge engineering, domain analysis consists of analysing related knowledge processes in a domain to find their common and variable parts, defining the different domain models and establishing the different knowledge contexts, situations and events for process

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re-use. This analysis principle is advocated for use in the proposed system generic design framework to identify and model the knowledge functions in software agents, eliciting the support system requirements and system architecture. The proposed research framework aims at supporting a wide range of goals, domains, and involved processes in information scanning and emerging issue tracking and monitoring. A combination of domain analysis techniques are proposed for use, depending on the different particularity and characteristics of the knowledge domains of interest. The representation of the knowledge domain models is based on the use of object-oriented models or data models, depending on the analysis approach considered (model or data driven).

A domain model is a goal oriented functional representation of the knowledge and activities related to a particular domain application. It aims at simplifying the design process by identifying recurring behavioural patterns in the application domain, and promoting positive interaction between the system agents. It enables the development and standardisation of software agents.

The development of services composed of software agents is fully based on understanding the interaction between the domain model entities of the core services supporting the application domain. The domain model requires an extensive compatibility between the logical models representing the different views of core service managers, service designers and developers, and users of the application domain. These models reflect the representation differences between the three service architectural levels: external, conceptual, and internal.

4.3.3.5. The System Control

The system control aims at reducing the disturbances within the monitoring alert process. It requires a continuous assessment of the system, prior to deciding which type of control is more appropriate to apply to eliminate disturbances. There are two types of control:

 Conventional feedback control, based on acting by measuring controlled variables to eliminate the effect of disturbances, and

 Adaptive control consisting of acting upon the data context aware environment model parameters, using an index of performance to eliminate the effect of parameter disturbances called variations.

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The system assessment focuses on identifying different types of agent’s behaviour changes that help determine key parameters or influencing factors affecting their individual behaviour and the global result of their interaction.