Int. J. Web and Grid Services, Vol. 2, No. 3, 2006 237 Design of a shared ontology used for translating negotiation primitives Maricela Bravo*, Joaquín Pérez, José Velázquez, Víctor Sosa, Azucena Montes and Máximo López National Center of Research and Technological Development Cuernavaca, 62490, Mexico E-mail: mari_clau@cenidet.edu.mx E-mail: jperezo@cenidet.edu.mx E-mail: jconrado@iie.org.mx E-mail: vjsosa@cinvestav.mx E-mail: amr@cenidet.edu.mx E-mail: maximo@cenidet.edu.mx *Corresponding author Abstract: In this paper, we present the design of a shared ontology, with the objective of translating a variety of negotiation primitives. Our approach focuses on facilitating the communication between agents during the negotiation process execution. Traditional negotiation systems impose several restrictions on the type and format of negotiation primitives that can be exchanged between agents. In contrast, we propose the incorporation of an ontology-based solution to overcome heterogeneity and provide communication facilities for participation in negotiations based on open environments such as the internet. To evaluate our ontology, we implemented a web-based negotiation system, and incorporated a translation module that uses the ontology as a vocabulary of negotiation primitives. The experimental results show that the incorporation of the ontology improves the continuity of the execution of negotiation processes, resulting in more agreements. Keywords: ontology design; electronic negotiation; multiagent systems; translation systems. Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Bravo, M., Pérez, J., Velázquez, J., Sosa, V., Montes, A. and López, M. (2006) ‘Design of a shared ontology used for translating negotiation primitives’, Int. J. Web and Grid Services, Vol. 2, No. 3, pp.237–259. Biographical notes: Maricela Bravo is a PhD candidate in the Department of Computer Science at the National Center of Research and Technological Development, Cuernavaca, Mexico. Her research interests include ontology design and integration of electronic commerce applications that use ontologies for interoperability issues. She obtained a BSc in Information Systems at the Zacatepec Institute of Technology, Mexico and an MSc in Computer Science at the National Center of Research and Technological Development. Currently, she is working as a Professor at the UniSol University and the UPGCH University, teaching subjects in the areas of distributed systems, database design, web application development, ontologies and electronic commerce applications. She has also published over 15 papers in international journals and conferences. Copyright © 2006 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.