Wizard, WeMash, WADE: unleash the power of collective intelligence
Luca Trione, Daniela Long, Danilo Gotta, Giovanna Sacchi · 2009
This paper presents an approach to the operational process management based on both the availability of tools for the automation of complex activities, and the availability of mashup software instruments. In this way, people directly involved in the operational processes are not only supported in their activities by means of the exiting tools, but they are also allowed, using mashup instruments, to create by themselves new applications, in front of new requirements arising from a changeable context. This paper sketches the problem, presents the adopted solution and describes two applications, currently deployed by Telecom Italia in the Operations Support System domains. Such applications are based on WADE (Workflows and Agents Development Environment), a software platform for the development of distributed applications based on the agent oriented paradigm and exploiting the workflow metaphor to define system logics. WADE is the main evolution of JADE, a popular Open Source framework for the development of multi-agent systems. The first application, called “Wizard”, provides a step-by-step guidance both to the on field technicians and to the back-office staff. The second one, named “WeMash”, is a mashup platform whose target is to enable ‘non developer users’ to self-create simple applications and share these applications within the team they are working in.