Conflict resolution in collaborative planning dialogs

In a collaborative planning environment in which the agents are autonomous and heterogeneous, it is inevitable that discrepancies in the agents' belie fs result in conflicts during the planning process. In such cases, it is im portant that the agents engage in collaborative negotiation to resolve the detected conflicts in order to determine what should constitute their share d plan of actions and shared beliefs. This paper presents a plan-based mode l for conflict detection and resolution in collaborative planning dialogs. Our model specifies how a collaborative system should detect conflicts that arise between the system and its user during the planning process. If the detected conflicts warrant resolution, our model initiates collaborative ne gotiation in an attempt to resolve the conflicts in the agent's beliefs. In addition, when multiple conflicts arise, our model identifies and addresse s the most effective aspect in its pursuit of conflict resolution. Furtherm ore, by capturing the collaborative planning process in a recursive Propose -Evaluate-Modify cycle of actions, our model is capable of handling embedde d negotiation during conflict resolution. (C) 2000 Academic Press.