Abstract

A workflow is a long-duration multi-step activity. The task of the workflow manager is to automate the execution and the control of the workflow activities. In this paper we are interested in workflows that execute under the control of various processing stations that may be located at different nodes of a distributed system. The stations may be autonomous and only partially automated. We present the design and a proposed implementation of a new model for workflow management. The model presented is modular in the sense that modification of a subactivities of the workflow does not necessarily require changes to the workflow specification. Furthermore, the model preserves the autonomy of the individual office environments and does not require them to modify the means they use to process the individual steps of the activity.

Citations