A framework for distributed workflow systems

Workflow management systems (WFMS) are being adopted to assist the automation of business processes that involve the exchange of information. As a result of developments in distributed information system technology, it is now possible to extend the WFMS idea to wider spheres of activity in the industrial and commercial world and thereby to encompass the increasingly sprawling nature of modern organisations. This paper describes a framework under development that employs such technology so that software tools and processes may interoperate in a distributed and dynamic environment. The framework employs Petri nets to model the interaction between various sub-processes. CORBA technology is used to enable different participants who are physically disparate to monitor activity in and make resource-level adaptations to their particular subnet.Unpublished[1] R. Bastide, D. Buchs, M. Buffo, F. Kordon and O. Sy, Questionnaire for a taxonomy of Petri net dialects [2] S. Christensen and N. Damgaard Hansen, “Coloured Petri nets extended with channels for synchronous communication”, LNCS 815, Application and Theory of Petri Nets 1994, Proc of 15th International Conference, Zaragoza, Spain, June 1994, R. Valette (ed.), pp. 159-178, Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 1994 [3] C.A. Ellis, K. Keddara and G. Rozenberg, “Dynamic change within workflow systems”, Proc of Conference on Organizational Computing Systems (COOCS’95), Milpitas, CA, August 1995, pp. 10-21, ACM Press, New York, 1995 [4] E. Gamma, JHotDraw, 1998 [5] M. Hammer and J. Champy, Reengineering the Corporation, Harper Business, New York, 1993 [6] Y. Han, A. Sheth and C. Bussler, “A taxonomy of adaptive workflow management”, 1998 ACM Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW-98), Seattle, WA, November 1998 [7] K. Jensen, Coloured Petri Nets – Basic Concepts, Analysis Methods and Practical Use, Vol. 1: Basic Concepts, Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 1992 [8] O. Kummer and F. Wienberg, Renew – User Guide, Release 1.3 University of Hamburg, Department for Informatics, Theoretical Foundations Group and Distributed Systems Group, September 2000 [9] O. Kummer, “Simulating synchronous channels and net instances”, 5. Workshop Algorithmen und Werkzeuge für Petrinetze, J. Desel, P. Kemper, E. Kindler and A. Oberweis (eds.), pp. 73-78, Forschungsbericht Nr. 694, Universität Dortmund, Fachbereich Informatik, October 1998 [10] O. Kummer. “Tight integration of Java and Petri nets”, 6. Workshop Algorithmen und Werkzeuge für Petrinetze, J. Desel and A. Oberweis (eds.), pp. 30-35, J.W. Goethe-Universität, Institut für Wirtschaft-informatik, Frankfurt am Maim, October 1999 [11] P.D. O’Brien and W.E. Wiegand, “Agent based process management: applying intelligent agents to workflow”, The Knowledge Engineering Review, 13(2):1-14, June 1998 [12] S.W. Sadiq, O. Marjanovic and M.E. Orlowska, “Managing change and time in dynamic workflow processes”, International Journal of Cooperative Information Systems, 9(1-2):93-116, World Scientific Publishing Company, 2000 [13] W.M.P. van der Aalst, “The application of Petri nets to workflow management”, The Journal of Circuits, Systems and Computer, 8(1):21-66, 1998 [14] W.M.P. van der Aalst, “Three good reasons for using a Petri-net-based workflow management system”, Proc of International Working Conference on Information and Process Integration in Enterprises (IPIC’96), S. Navathe and T. Wakayama (eds.), pp. 179-201, Camebridge, Massachusetts, November 1996 [15] Workflow Management Coalitition, The Workflow Reference Model, Document No. TC00-1003, Issue 1.1, 199