An interaction support mechanism in software development

The paper proposes a new modeling method of interactions in the software development process, which focuses on the interactions among the elements of the process, and a new software development environment based on the model. In this method, interactions in the software process are modeled as a set of agents and communication channels. An agent interacts with other agents with channels. Channels are classified according to their content and type of interaction. A prototype of the supporting environment for software development which is based on the model is also developed. The environment consists of a proxy program for the agent and integrated communication server, which provides mechanisms for interaction, process execution, and user navigation