Using UML 2 Activity Diagrams to Design Information Flows and Feedback-loops in Self-Organising Emergent Systems

Designing self-organising emergence requires explicit support to design system-wide information flows and feedback loops in those flows. The problem-solving power of emergence mainly resides in the coordination between agents which needs exchange of inherently decentralised information through the system. Self-organisation is only possible when there are ongoing feedback loops in those flows. To avoid that engineers are overwhelmed with the details of decentralised coordination mechanisms such as digital pheromones or gradient fields, the design should focus on the bigger coordination picture: information flows. “Information Flow” is proposed as design abstraction which allows to design a solution independently of the coordination mechanism details by explicitly identifying the essential information flows and designing feedback-loops. UML 2 activity diagrams are used as notation. A simple data clustering application together with a realistic automated guided vehicle transportation system show the usefulness and feasibility of information flows.