title: A criticality-based framework for task composition in multi-agent bioinformatics integration systems.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  During task composition, such as can be found in distributed query processing, workflow systems and AI planning, decisions have to be made by the system and possibly by users with respect to how a given problem should be solved. Although there is often more than one correct way of solving a given problem, these multiple solutions do not necessarily lead to the same result. Some researchers are addressing this problem by providing data provenance information. Others use expert advice encoded in a supporting knowledge-base. In this paper, we propose an approach that assesses the importance of such decisions with respect to the overall result. We present a way of measuring decision criticality and describe its potential use.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A multi-agent bioinformatics integration system is used as the basis of a framework that facilitates such functionality. We propose an agent architecture, and a concrete bioinformatics example (prototype) is used to show how certain decisions may not be critical in the context of more complex tasks.
authors.affiliation: School of Mathematical and Computer Sciences, Heriot-Watt University Edinburgh EH14 4AS, UK. ceekk@macs.hw.ac.uk
authors.forename: Konstantinos A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Karasavvas
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Baldock
authors.forename: Albert
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Burger
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D001185:Artificial Intelligence; D019295:Computational Biology / Q000379:methods*; D003661:Decision Support Techniques; D018511:Systems Integration; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis; D014584:User-Computer Interface