Interoperability is a key aspect in electronic commerce, since the Web is an open system with heterogeneous information sources. Many agent based environments face this issue with specialised agents for every resource. In our environment, we maintain a collection of access interfaces in a distributed repository that may be replicated to enhance availability. Customers' agents negotiate with merchants to decide the appropriate interfaces to load from the repository. This service enables a single agent to access a plethora of diverse resources, extending its default capabilities.
Workflow automation allows the implementation of complex models of interaction.
The desired flow of information and control is described to the workflow management system with a specification language. At execution time the workflow manager sequences the commerce activities, passing data and control appropriately among agents. Removing assumptions about activity sequencing and data routing from agents improves their robustness to changes. Furthermore, alternatives to certain activities can be described in the specification language if agents fail to complete their task. Maintaining context and state information about electronic commerce transactions is an important requirement.