IVAN - Integrated Virtual Agent Network

This paper describes IVAN (Integrated Virtual Agent Network), a project that proposes to improve online marketplaces, specifically those that involve the trading of nontangible goods and services. IVAN is an intermediary architecture intended as a generalized platform for the specification and brokering of heterogeneous goods and services. IVAN makes it possible for both buyers and sellers alike to more holistically and comprehensively specify relative preferences for the transaction partner, as well as for the attributes of the product in question, making price just one of a multitude of possible factors influencing the transaction decision. The ability to make such specifications results in a more efficient, richer, and integrative transaction experience. The modular object-oriented design of the system allows for easy addition of new functionalities to the system. A special handling of the "core" concept ensures the competitiveness of IVAN marketplaces in the free-market environment. Thesis Supervisor: Paul Milgrom Title: Visiting Professor, MIT Department of Economics