The development and deployment of multi-agent systems in real world settings raises a number of important research issues and problems which must be overcome if Distributed AI (DAI) is to become a widespread solution technology. Work undertaken in the context of the ARCHON project has provided a number of important insights into these issues. By providing an in depth analysis of ARCHON?s electricity transportation management application, this paper draws together many of the experiences obtained when building one of the world’s first operational DAI systems.