Workflow Automation: Applications, Technology and Research

2005

Abstract Structured business processes are the veins of complex business organizations. Workflows have generally been accepted as a means to model and support these processes, be they interactive or completely automated. The fact that these processes require robustness and clear semantics has generally been observed and has led to the combination of workflow and transaction concepts. Many variations on this combination exist, leading to many approaches to transactional workflow support.

2002

Abstract Workflows have generally been accepted as a means to model and support processes in complex organizations, be they interactive or completely automated. The fact that these processes require robustness and clear semantics has generally been observed and has lead to the combination of workflow and transaction concepts. Many variations on this combination exist, leading to many approaches to transactional workflow support.

Modern Database Systems: The Object …, 1994

Workflow management systems, a relatively recent technology , are designed to make work more efficient, integrate heterogeneous application systems, and support interorganizational processes in electronic commerce applications. In this paper, we introduce the field of workflow automation, the subject of this special issue of Information Systems Frontiers. In the first part of the paper, we provide basic definitions and frameworks to aid understanding of workflow management technologies. In the remainder of the paper, we discuss technical and management research opportunities in this field and discuss the other contributions to the special issue.

Ibm Systems Journal, 1997

Dpd, 1995

Advanced Transaction Models and Architectures (Book), 1997

Workflow management systems (WFMSs) are finding wide applicability in small and large organizational settings. Advanced transaction models (ATMs) focus on maintaining data consistency and have provided solutions to many problems such as correctness, consistency, and reliability in transaction processing and database management environments. While such concepts have yet to be solved in the domain of workflow systems, database researchers have proposed to use, or attempted to use ATMs to model workflows. In this paper we survey the work done in the area of transactional workflow systems. We then argue that workflow requirements in large-scale enterprise-wide applications involving heterogeneous and distributed environments either differ or exceed the modeling and functionality support provided by ATMs. We propose that an ATM is unlikely to provide the primary basis for modeling of workflow applications, and subsequently workflow management. We discuss a framework for error handling and recovery in the METEOR WFMS that borrows from relevant work in ATMs, distributed systems, software engineering, and organizational sciences. We have also presented various connotations of transactions in real-world organizational processes today. Finally, we point out the need for looking beyond ATMs and using a multi-disciplinary approach for modeling large-scale workflow applications of the future.

1995

Recent recession has compelled many companies to find more effective ways to conduct their business. One remedy suggested is to model organizational dynamics as "business processes" and provide a suitable tool support for this. In this context the buzzwords business process re-engineering and workflow have been often quoted. The basic idea in this thinking is to view the functioning of an organization to consist of business processes and provide computer support for as large part of the processes as possible through "workflow systems". There are currently perhaps hundreds of products which claim to support workflows. We believe that workflow techniques are a proper way of supporting the process approach, but that the approach requires further development for several reasons. In this paper, we will discuss the development needs by presenting organizational and architectural considerations and requirements resulting from them for the workflow techniques. One centra...

Distributed and parallel …, 1995

Requirements Engineering, 2002

business and an organisational perspective. Distribution, interoperability and cooperation with external information systems are considered in this early stage. A set of “workflowability” criteria is provided in order to identify which candidate processes are suited to be implemented as workflows. Non-functional requirements receive particular emphasis in that they are among the most important criteria for deciding whether workflow technology can be actually useful for implementing the business process at hand. The design phase tackles aspects of concurrency and cooperation, distributed transactions and exception handling. Reuse of component workflows, available in a repository as workflow fragments, is a distinguishing feature of the method. Implementation aspects are presented in terms of rules that guide in the selection of a commercial workflow management system suitable for supporting the designed processes, coupled with guidelines for mapping the designed workflows onto the model offered by the selected system.