Workflow

About: Workflow is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 31996 publications have been published within this topic receiving 498339 citations.

Componentized and extensible workflow model

Abstract: Building a componentized workflow model. Each step of the workflow is modeled as an activity that has metadata to describe design time aspects, compile time aspects, and runtime aspects of the workflow step. A user selects and arranges the activities to create the workflow via user interfaces or application programming interfaces. The metadata associated with each of the activities in the workflow is collected to create a persistent representation of the workflow. Users extend the workflow model by authoring custom activities. The workflow may be compiled and executed.

Cross-organizational workflow integration using contracts

Abstract: Enterprises are lining up into virtual enterprises to meet the ever-increasing customer's demands in a more flexible and effective way than before. Hence, the business processes as well as supporting workflow systems need to be tightly embedded into streamlined, virtual value chains that can transcend organizational boundaries. It is generally recognized that the combination of workflow with business-object component technology provides the required solution. However, today's widespread business workflow modeling techniques suffer from an object bias, ignoring the most essential coordination vehicle in the enterprise: communication, and the resulting commitments. In this paper, we present contracts that encapsulate (formal) commitments laid down as a set of obligations to coordinate and control the interaction between business workflows. We use the business contract specification language XLBC to formally link the Component Definition Language (CDL) specification of business object-based workflow systems. XLBC is an extension of the Formal Language for Business Communication (FLBC) and a framework for the semantics of XLBC transactions is described. Finally, we indicate a feasible implementation architecture on the basis of an emerging internet-enabled business process architecture, ebXML and Trading Partner Agreements (TPAs).

A Workflow Change Is a Workflow

Abstract: Organizations that are geared for success within today's business environments must be capable of rapid and continuous change. This business reality is boosting the popularity of various types of workflow systems. However, current workflow systems are not yet capable of facing the ever-changing nature of their business environment. Part of the answer to the challenge, in our view, lies in change understanding, communication, implementation, and analysis. In this chapter, we present an overview of our work on modeling dynamic change within workflow systems. This work was recently completed by the introduction of ML-DEWS, a Modeling Language to support Dynamic Evolution within Workflow Systems. We firmly believe the thesis put forth in this chapter that a change is a process that can be modeled, enacted, analyzed, simulated and monitored as any process.

Scientific versus Business Workflows

Abstract: The formal concept of a workflow has existed in the business world for a long time. An entire industry of tools and technology devoted to workflow management has been developed and marketed to meet the needs of commercial enterprises. The Workflow Management Coalition (WfMC) has existed for over ten years and has developed a large set of reference models, documents, and standards. Why has the scientific community not adopted these existing standards? While it is not uncommon for the scientific community to reinvent technology rather than purchase existing solutions, there are issues involved in the technical applications that are unique to science, and we will attempt to characterize some of these here. There are, however, many core concepts that have been developed in the business workflow community that directly relate to science, and we will outline them below.

A method and system for dynamically publishing, sharing, communication and subscribing

Abstract: A system & method for dynamically publishing, sharing, communication & subscribing and dynamically presenting and allow to auto subscribe publisher specific active links and associate objects & data of other services, applications, networks, groups, widgets & objects of publishers to users of network is described. A method includes dynamically present selected publishing type or service specific input system, presentations and application features to publisher and subscriber for managing publishing specific contents, shared data, communications & messages, subscribers, privacy settings, user actions, workflow and managing subscribed contents, communications, messages, subscriptions, privacy settings, user actions, workflow. A method further includes publisher can dynamically publish active links and associate objects & data for other services, applications, web site features, widgets, objects, multimedia contents of publisher and allow users of network to search, select, subscribe or auto install & attach said active links with user profile based on privacy settings.