Signs of a Revolution in Computer Science and Software Engineering

Several characteristics distinguish today's complex software systems from "traditional" ones. Examples in different areas show that these characteristics, already the focus of agent-oriented software en-gineering research, influence many application domains. These char-acteristics will impact how software systems are modeled and engi-neered. We are on the edge of a revolutionary shift of paradigm, pio-neered by the multi-agent systems community, and likely to change our very attitudes in software systems modeling and engineering.