abstract
The increasing complexity of modern software systems, particularly those incorporating autonomous components, presents significant challenges for traditional software engineering methodologies. Domain-Driven Design (DDD) excels at managing structural domain complexity through strategic and tactical patterns, while Agent-Oriented Software Engineering (AOSE) provides powerful abstractions for modeling autonomy, reactivity, and social interaction. However, DDD struggles with the dynamic complexity of autonomous systems, and AOSE faces limited mainstream adoption despite its conceptual richness.
This survey examines the largely unexplored integration of these complementary methodologies. Through analysis of the limited existing literature—primarily one comprehensive framework—and related approaches including actor-based architectures and Multi-Agent MicroServices, we identify how DDD’s domain modeling strengths can be enhanced by AOSE’s behavioral abstractions at multiple architectural levels. We reveal critical methodological gaps, analyze the current integration approaches, and propose future research directions for advancing DDD-AOSE synergy in intelligent systems engineering. Our findings suggest that selective, gradual integration strategies offer the most promising path forward for combining domain expertise with autonomous behavioral capabilities.
