Abstract. Situational Method Engineering for constructing ad-hoc agent oriented design processes is grounded on a well defined set of phases that are principally based on reuse of components coming from existing agent design processes; these components have to be stored in a repository. The identification and extraction of these components could take large advantages from the existence of a standardized representation of the design processes they come from. In this paper we illustrate our solution based on SPEM 2.0 specifications for modelling agent design processes and extending them when necessary to meet the specific needs we faced

Several different approaches to Situational Method Engineering exist. They differ in terms of the primary element of the paradigm: the method fragment definition. Here, we introduce four method fragment definitions from the literature and compare their metamodels according to structural and functional criteria. The structural comparison showed a general alignment of some concepts that are sometimes referred with different names while the study of the compositional aspects results in evidence of substantial differences.

Abstract: The situational method engineering (SME) literature is surveyed and a synoptic evaluation presented in the context of formalizing and regularizing the conceptual framework and underpinning theory. Metamodels proposed for use in SME are evaluated as well as highlevel process models for method construction. Method fragments and method chunks are then described formally followed by their identification and creation (from existing methods, from scratch or from past usage). Method creation is then analyzed in terms of various processes for constructing a full methodology from the method fragments/chunks. In particular, we contrast the use of the “map ” technique and of the “deontic matrix ” technique. The survey is concluded with an evaluation of some ideas on method tailoring and the emerging research on quality evaluation applied to SME.

Situational method engineering (SME) has as a focus a repository of method fragments, gleaned from extant methodologies and best practice. Using one such example, the OPF (OPEN Process Framework) repository, we identify deficiencies in the current SME support for securityrelated issues in the context of agent-oriented software engineering. Specifically, theoretical proposals for the development of reusable security-related method fragments from the agent-oriented methodology Secure Tropos are discussed. Since the OPF repository has already been enhanced by fragments from Tropos and other non-security-focussed agent-oriented software development methodologies, the only method fragments from Secure Tropos not already contained in this repository are those that are specifically security-related. These are identified, clearly defined and recommended for inclusion in the current OPF repository of method fragments.