Fundamental issues in the design of a role engine

A society requires a government to manage, supervise and guide the activities of its members. Every system requires self control and supervision. A collaborative system also requires self management and control. Role- based systems have the same requirements. In role-based collaboration (RBC), roles are the major media for interaction, coordination, and collaboration. A center is required to deal with the management of roles and role players, and the control of messages sent from roles to roles. This center is called as a role engine. In this paper, the basic functions of a role engine and the fundamental relations in RBC are discussed. These relations must be clearly specified before building a role engine and a role-based system.