Workflow Resource Allocation through Auctions Universitat de Girona Albert Plà, Beatriz López, Javier Murillo eXiT 16/7/ AILOG Barcelona Universitat de Girona

Workflow Resource Allocation through Auctions – Universitat de Girona Line up Introduction Workflow Management System Workflow Resource Allocation: The Auction ▫Workflow Agents: The Auctioneers ▫Resource Agents: The Bidders Experimentation and Results Conclusions and Future Work 16/7/ Introduction WMS The Auction Experimenta tion & Results Conclusions AILOG Barcelona Universitat de Girona

Workflow Resource Allocation through Auctions – Universitat de Girona Introduction 16/7/ Introduction WMS The Auction Experimenta tion & Results Conclusions AILOG Barcelona Universitat de Girona

Workflow Resource Allocation through Auctions – Universitat de Girona Introduction Resources 16/7/2011 Cost Reduction Organization Interactions Decentralized Production Chain Schedules & Deadlines Business Processes Introduction WMS The Auction Experimenta tion & Results Conclusions Resources 4 AILOG Barcelona Universitat de Girona

Workflow Resource Allocation through Auctions – Universitat de Girona Introduction Decentralization of the production processes. ▫Distribute production plants ▫Service outsourcing ▫Third party elements ▫Some tasks can not be Scheduled (e.g. faults) ▫Unknown service providers schedule Customer oriented production methodologies ▫Lean Manufacturing ▫Avoid unnecessary work ▫Interaction between customer & provider ▫Production under demand ▫Production flexibility ▫Resource allocation in real time 16/7/ Introduction WMS The Auction Experimenta tion & Results Conclusions AILOG Barcelona Universitat de Girona

Workflow Resource Allocation through Auctions – Universitat de Girona Introduction Dynamism Decentralization Third Party Oustourcing Contingency Robustness Customer Orientation Providers Privacy Process Planing: + Uncertainity + Complexity 16/7/ Introduction WMS The Auction Experimenta tion & Results Conclusions AILOG Barcelona Universitat de Girona

Workflow Resource Allocation through Auctions – Universitat de Girona Introduction Dynamism Decentralization Third Party Oustourcing Contingency Robustness Customer Orientation Providers Privacy Process Planing: + Uncertainity + Complexity 16/7/ Introduction WMS The Auction Experimenta tion & Results Conclusions AILOG Barcelona Universitat de Girona

Workflow Resource Allocation through Auctions – Universitat de Girona Introduction 16/7/ Introduction WMS The Auction Experimenta tion & Results Conclusions AILOG Barcelona Universitat de Girona Unknown # of online workflows Dynamism Decentralization Third Party Oustourcing Contingency Robustness Customer Orientation Providers Privacy Process Planing: + Uncertainity + Complexity

Workflow Resource Allocation through Auctions – Universitat de Girona Example: Hospital device maintenance service 16/7/ Introduction WMS The Auction Experimenta tion & Results Conclusions AILOG Barcelona Universitat de Girona Fault Reparation Internal technicians Outsource technicians Company 1Comp. 2Comp. n … ?

Workflow Resource Allocation through Auctions – Universitat de Girona Our proposal: Resource allocation using: Workflow Management System (WMS) Multi-Ageng Systems (MAS) technolgoy Auctions 16/7/ Introduction WMS The Auction Experimenta tion & Results Conclusions AILOG Barcelona Universitat de Girona

Workflow Resource Allocation through Auctions – Universitat de Girona Introduction Background? WMS The Auction Experimenta tion & Results Conclusions Our proposal: 16/7/ Workflow Management System Organization Resource Providers Auction AILOG Barcelona Universitat de Girona

Workflow Resource Allocation through Auctions – Universitat de Girona Workflow Management System 16/7/ Introduction WMS The Auction Experimenta tion & Results Conclusions AILOG Barcelona Universitat de Girona

Workflow Resource Allocation through Auctions – Universitat de Girona Workflow Management System Workflows modeled using Resource-aware Petri Nets (RAPN) ▫Resource requirements included in the model 16/7/ Type: Technician A Resources Capacity: 2 Currently used resources: 1 Pla A. et al. Petri Net Based Agents for Coordinating Resources. Rome 2011 Introduction WMS The Auction Experimenta tion & Results Conclusions AILOG Barcelona Universitat de Girona

Workflow Resource Allocation through Auctions – Universitat de Girona Workflow Management System Monitoring using agents [1] ▫1 Workflow agent for each workflow typology ▫1 Resource agent for each resource 16/7/ WF Agent A WF Agent B WF Agent C WF Agent D Resource Agent 1 Resource Agent 2 Resource Agent n Resource Agent n-1 … Introduction WMS The Auction Experimenta tion & Results Conclusions AILOG Barcelona Universitat de Girona Pla A. et al. Petri Net Based Agents for Coordinating Resources. Rome 2011

Workflow Resource Allocation through Auctions – Universitat de Girona Workflow Management System A workflow agent monitors and manages all the instances of a workflow type ▫Call for auctions when they need resources 16/7/ Resource Agent 1 Resource Agent 2 Workflow Agent A Introduction WMS The Auction Experimenta tion & Results Conclusions Resource Type A AILOG Barcelona Universitat de Girona Pla A. et al. Petri Net Based Agents for Coordinating Resources. Rome 2011

Workflow Resource Allocation through Auctions – Universitat de Girona Workflow Management System A workflow agent monitors and manages all the instances of a workflow type [1] ▫Call for auctions when they need resources 16/7/ Resource Agent 1 Resource Agent 2 Resoruce Agent A Introduction WMS The Auction Experimenta tion & Results Conclusions Resource Type A AILOG Barcelona Universitat de Girona Pla A. et al. Petri Net Based Agents for Coordinating Resources. Rome 2011

Workflow Resource Allocation through Auctions – Universitat de Girona Workflow Management System 16/7/ Resource Agent 1 Resource Agent 2 Resoruce Agent A A workflow agent monitors and manages all the instances of a workflow type [1] ▫Call for auctions when they need resources Introduction WMS The Auction Experimenta tion & Results Conclusions Resource Type A AILOG Barcelona Universitat de Girona

Workflow Resource Allocation through Auctions – Universitat de Girona Workflow Management System 16/7/ Resource Agent 1 Resource Agent 2 Resoruce Agent A AUCTION! A workflow agent monitors and manages all the instances of a workflow type [1] ▫Call for auctions when they need resources Introduction WMS The Auction Experimenta tion & Results Conclusions Resource Type A AILOG Barcelona Universitat de Girona

Workflow Resource Allocation through Auctions – Universitat de Girona Workflow resource allocation: The Auction 16/7/ Introduction WMS The Auction Experimenta tion & Results Conclusions AILOG Barcelona Universitat de Girona

Workflow Resource Allocation through Auctions – Universitat de Girona Workflow Agent: The Auctioneer Different attributtes to be fullfilled ▫Time Restritctions (Starting & Ending Time) ▫Resource Category (E.g. Tehcnician License) Minimize costs 16/7/ Introduction WMS The Auction Experimenta tion & Results Conclusions AILOG Barcelona Universitat de Girona

Workflow Resource Allocation through Auctions – Universitat de Girona Workflow Agent: The Auctioneer Reverse Sealed Auction ▫First Price Penalty Mechanisms: ▫Fraudulent bids ▫Delays ▫Agreement Repudiation Attribute Promotion: ▫Different strategies ▫Winning Determination Problem (WDP) 16/7/ AILOG Barcelona Universitat de Girona Introduction WMS The Auction Experimenta tion & Results Conclusions

Workflow Resource Allocation through Auctions – Universitat de Girona Auctioneers Strategies Balanced Strategy: ▫WDP: Lowest Bid Price ▫Balanced market price ▫Providers equilibrium ▫Decrease costs for workflow agent ▫Suitable for internal & external providers ▫+ Delays 16/7/ Introduction WMS The Auction Experimenta tion & Results Conclusions AILOG Barcelona Universitat de Girona

Workflow Resource Allocation through Auctions – Universitat de Girona Auctioneers Strategies Delay Prevention Strategy ▫WDP: Takes into account task ending time ▫Shortens workflow timings ▫Reduces number of delays ▫Indicated for dealing with internal providers ▫Arises cost ▫Faster providers can increase their prices 16/7/ Introduction WMS The Auction Experimenta tion & Results Conclusions AILOG Barcelona Universitat de Girona

Workflow Resource Allocation through Auctions – Universitat de Girona Resource Agents: The Bidders Characterized by: ▫Their categories (1 or more) ▫List of scheduled tasks (private agenda) ▫Estimation of times needed to perform tasks based on past experience (mean, std deviation, etc) 16/7/ Introduction WMS The Auction Experimenta tion & Results Conclusions AILOG Barcelona Universitat de Girona

Workflow Resource Allocation through Auctions – Universitat de Girona Resoruce Agents: The bidders The Bid: ▫Agents evaluate their agenda  Find gaps for new tasks  Enter to auctiosn ▫Choose price (Agent character):  Arise the price when winning  Decrease when losing  Reinforcement learning ▫Evaluate benefits of winning the auction  They can cancel scheduled activitys if the benefit of realizing a new task compensates the cancellation penalty.  Risky bids 16/7/ Introduction WMS The Auction Experimenta tion & Results Conclusions AILOG Barcelona Universitat de Girona

Workflow Resource Allocation through Auctions – Universitat de Girona Experimentation and Results 16/7/ Introduction WMS The Auction Experimenta tion & Results Conclusions AILOG Barcelona Universitat de Girona

Workflow Resource Allocation through Auctions – Universitat de Girona Experimental Setup Workflow Simulation ▫200 t.u. simulations ▫Workflow probability p = 0.2 Evaluation: ▫Economic cost ▫Delays produced ▫Workload balance Strategies: ▫Balanced Strategy (BS) ▫Delay Prevention Strategy (DPS) ▫First available resource of a sorted list (FRQ) 16/7/ Introduction WMS The Auction Experimenta tion & Results Conclusions AILOG Barcelona Universitat de Girona

Workflow Resource Allocation through Auctions – Universitat de Girona Experimental Setup Scenario 1: ▫4 Resource Agents ▫Each resources can perform, at least, 3 different tasks ▫Competition between some resources ▫Workflow instances > resources Scenario 2: ▫4 Resource Agents ▫Each resource can perform all the tasks ▫High competition between all resources ▫Workflow instances >> resources 16/7/ Introduction WMS The Auction Experimenta tion & Results Conclusions AILOG Barcelona Universitat de Girona

Workflow Resource Allocation through Auctions – Universitat de Girona Results Scenario 1Scenario 2 16/7/ Introduction WMS The Auction Experimenta tion & Results Conclusions AILOG Barcelona Universitat de Girona

Workflow Resource Allocation through Auctions – Universitat de Girona Results: Delays Scenario 1Scenario 2 16/7/ Introduction WMS The Auction Experimenta tion & Results Conclusions AILOG Barcelona Universitat de Girona

Workflow Resource Allocation through Auctions – Universitat de Girona Results: Costs Workflow agents budged 16/7/ Introduction WMS The Auction Experimenta tion & Results Conclusions AILOG Barcelona Universitat de Girona

Workflow Resource Allocation through Auctions – Universitat de Girona Results: Workload Balance Scenario 2 16/7/ Balanced Strategy FIFO Resource Queue Introduction WMS The Auction Experimenta tion & Results Conclusions AILOG Barcelona Universitat de Girona

Workflow Resource Allocation through Auctions – Universitat de Girona Conclusions and Future Work 16/7/ Introduction WMS The Auction Experimenta tion & Results Conclusions AILOG Barcelona Universitat de Girona

Workflow Resource Allocation through Auctions – Universitat de Girona Conclusions How to allocate internal and foreign resources under demand in a decentralized production process? ▫Workflow Management System  Business Process  Resources ▫Multi Agent Systems  Useful in distributed environments ▫Auctions  Minimize costs  Reduce production times  Balance resource occupation 16/7/ Introduction WMS The Auction Experimenta tion & Results Conclusions AILOG Barcelona Universitat de Girona

Workflow Resource Allocation through Auctions – Universitat de Girona Conclusions 2 Kind of agents: ▫Resource Agents  Bidders ▫Workflow Agents  Auctioneers  Different strategies  Resource costs (Balanced Strategy)  Workflow timings (Delay Prevention Strategy) Improve simple schedules methods 16/7/ Cost Reduction Delay reduction Balanced market price Balanced workload Balanced St. Delay Prevention St. Introduction WMS The Auction Experimenta tion & Results Conclusions AILOG Barcelona Universitat de Girona

Workflow Resource Allocation through Auctions – Universitat de Girona Further work Vickery auctioning mechanism ▫Incentive compatibility ▫Fight cheating agents New auctioning strategies ▫Multi-attribute Improve MAS capabilities ▫Trust ▫Historical data 16/7/ Introduction WMS The Auction Experimenta tion & Results Conclusions AILOG Barcelona Universitat de Girona

Workflow Resource Allocation through Auctions – Universitat de Girona AILOG Barcelona Universitat de Girona16/7/ Introduction WMS The Auction Experimenta tion & Results Conclusions

Workflow Resource Allocation through Auctions Universitat de Girona Albert Plà, Beatriz López, Javier Murillo eXiT 16/7/ AILOG Barcelona Universitat de Girona

Workflow Resource Allocation through Auctions – Universitat de Girona 16/7/ AILOG Barcelona Universitat de Girona

Workflow Resource Allocation through Auctions – Universitat de Girona 16/7/ AILOG Barcelona Universitat de Girona

Workflow Resource Allocation through Auctions – Universitat de Girona 16/7/ AILOG Barcelona Universitat de Girona WMS Architecture

Workflow Resource Allocation through Auctions – Universitat de Girona 16/7/ AILOG Barcelona Universitat de Girona Multiple Reactive Maintenance Intervention (MRMI) Maintenance action generated in the system Classifying the action Locating the source of the action Ranking the action (assigning a level) Assigning to in-house technicians Assigning to an external service provider Device returned to the medical center Concurrent Solution Sequential Solution Technician 1 reparation Technician 2 reparation Device Check Out Technician 1 reparation Technician 2 reparation Technician Type ATechnician Type B Resoruces:

Workflow Resource Allocation through Auctions – Universitat de Girona 16/7/ AILOG Barcelona Universitat de Girona P1P1 P2P2 P3P3 P4P4 P5P5 T1T1 T2T2 T3T3 T4T4 T5T5