1. On-Demand Creation/Evolution of Organizations (Weaving a Spandex Society) Leon Osterweil (ljo@cs.umass.edu) http://laser.cs.umass.edu University of Massachusetts at Amherst

2. The Vision Organizations rapidly (re)molded to meet needs –Partnerships/alliances created/altered/dissolved over the net –Physical proximity optional –Applicable to businesses, governments, schools Procedures automatically evolve with needs –Self monitoring, self adapting, self improving –Quality through composition of verified modules Humans do what they do best –Molded by traditional sociological, psychological factors –Take initiative where they choose, freed of onerous chores Balance of self-adaptation with human activity

3. Specific Examples “Corporations on Demand” created as needed –Unique collections of resources assembled rapidly –Low overhead, rapid response, dissolve when done But experience, knowledge, expertise persist Adaptive handling of data/materiel/paperwork –Adaptive organizational processes –Adaptive interorganizational negotiations On-Demand degree programs –Distributed across universities and departments –Tailored to fit student requirements –Courses taken on demand: no fixed “semesters”

4. Examples of Needed Technology Development Safe, secure,correct, sub-second automated negotiations/auctions among temporally and geographically dispersed participants Rigorous, automatable, evolvable specifications of processes that help integrate people and software Web-based collaboration support that protects privacy while supporting close interoperation

5. Elements of a Plan: Iterative, highly distributed, synergistic development of technology and scientific knowledge Current Technology Current Science Research Projects Improved Technology Better Scientific Understandings Mutually supportive

6. Principles and Systems Entailed in “Corporations on Demand” Current Technology Current Science Research Projects Improved Technology Better Scientific Understandings Process Networks Auctions Messaging Organization Theory Negotiation Theory Process Specification Flexible, spontaneous corporations Adaptive, responsive agencies Advanced WWW features Process reasoning systems Auction/negotiation theorems Organizational computation systems

7. An Example: Earthquake Response Requires assembly of diverse team To address needs of diverse constituencies Needs will change rapidly, eventually disappear Rapid assembly of consortia, creation/evolution of procedures, adaptive user interfaces, etc. Human needs drive adaptations Strong structures enforced, but with flexible adapation

8. Specifically: Instant Computer Resource Brokers Data mining identifies need for particular kind of configuration of computing resources Consortia best equipped to address needs Negotiation to create corporations, evolve rules, and practices, establish marketing Auctions designed to couple customers with suppliers Consortium disbands when needs dry up

9. Adaptive Intergroup Negotiation Principles and Practice Current Technology Current Science Research Projects Improved Technology Better Scientific Understandings Internet Buying Protocols Net-based auctions Firewalls Process technology Game Theory Process Analysis Software Correctness Security and Privacy Mixed-initiative processes Agile Negotiation Advanced WWW features Privacy/security theories Auction/negotiation ontologies Process Evolution principles

10. Learning from Applying Information Sciences to Adaptive Manufacturing and Supply Chain Management Current Technology Current Science Research Projects Improved Technology Better Scientific Understandings Factory automation Net-based auctions Process technology Game Theory Process Analysis Industrial Engineering Self-optimizing manufacturing Agile Negotiation Self-Improving Systems Theory Auction/negotiation ontologies Process Evolution principles

11. Academic Degree Programs on Demand Current Technology Current Science Research Projects Improved Technology Better Scientific Understandings Human Intensive Processes Educational Technology Negotiation/Auctions Distance Learning Negotiation Theory Organization/Coalition Theory Content Integration Agile Negotiation Multidimensional Negotiation Process Evolution principles

12. Mutually Supporting Science and Technology Development Exciting range of innovative systems But also: Models of processes for reasoning about their critical properties Computational theories of organizations to redefine them and reason about them Rigorous semantics of hybrid systems of people and software Formal analysis of “privacy” and “security”

13. Why is the time Ripe? Existing technology bases in –Net-based auctions, process technology, distributed organizations, agile manufacturing, groupware,... Existing scientific bases in –Process programming, negotiation theory, distributed systems, as well as management science, etc. Potentially High Scientific payoffs –Understanding the formal nature of Organizations, negotiation, –Understanding scope and limitations of flexibility of Processes, organizations, distribution, Risk in not doing the science: Reckless development