Workflow and Process Automation: Concepts and Technology

124 Pages·1998·7.07 MB·English

by  Andrzej Cichocki

WORKFLOW AND PROCESS
AUTOMATION:
Concepts and Technology
THE KLUWER INTERNATIONAL SERIES
IN ENGINEERING AND COMPUTER SCIENCE
WORKFLOW AND PROCESS
AUTOMATION:
Concepts and Technology
by
Andrzej Cichocki
Abdelsalam (Sumi) Belal
Marek Rusinkiewicz
Darrell Woelk
Microelectronics and Computer
Technology Corporation (MCC)
.
. ,
~
SPRINGER SCIENCE+BUSINESS MEDIA, LLC
Llbrary of Congress Cataloglng-ln-PubHcation Data
Workflow and process automation : concepts and technology I by Andrzej
Cichocki ... [et al.].
p. cm. --(Kluwer international series in engineering and
computer science ; SECS 432)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-4613-7599-9 ISBN 978-1-4615-5677-0 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-1-4615-5677-0
1. Production management--Data processing. 2. Management
information systems. 3. Manufacturing processes--Automation.
4. Transaction systems (Computer systems) 1. Cichocki, Andrzej.
II. Series.
TSI55.6.W637 1998
658.5' l--dc21 97-43179
CIP
Copyright <111998 by Springer Science+Business Media New York
Originally published by Kluwer Academic Publishers in 1998
Softcover reprint ofthe hardcover lst edition 1998
AII rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a
retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, mechanical, photo
copying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the
publisher, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC ..
Printed on acid-free paper.
CONTENTS
PREFACE ix
1 INTRODUCTION 1
2 PROCESS TECHNOLOGY 5
2.1 Process Modeling 5
2.1.1 Communication-based Modeling 5
2.1.2 Artifact-based Modeling 8
2.1.3 Activity-based Modeling 8
2.2 Process Descriptive Views 9
2.3 Process Meta-Models 13
2.4 Process Model Analysis 13
3 WORKFLOW TECHNOLOGY 19
3.1 Workflow Enactment Paradigms 19
3.2 Workflow Execution System Guarantees 20
3.2.1 Correctness of execution of a single instance of a work-
flow 20
3.2.2 Transactional properties 21
3.2.3 Deadlines 22
3.2.4 Discussion 23
3.3 Description Languages 23
3.3.1 Expressiveness of the workflow specification languages 23
3.3.2 User Interfaces 24
3.3.3 Specification interoperability 25
3.3.4 Language processors 25
3.4 Software Architecture of the Workflow Enactment Service 26
v
vi WORKFLOW AND PROCESS AUTOMATION
3.4.1 Scalability and Performance 26
3.4.2 Reliability 27
3.4.3 Execution interoperability 28
3.4.4 Flexibility 28
3.5 Security Considerations 29
3.6 Implementation Issues 30
3.6.1 Software infrastructure: existing and emerging tech-
nologies 30
3.6.2 Task managers and application wrappers 32
3.6.3 Monitoring tools 33
3.6.4 Mobility of workflow servers and clients 34
4 TRANSACTIONAL ASPECTS OF
WORKFLOWS 37
4.1 The need for a workflow transaction model 37
4.2 Traditional Transactions 38
4.3 Correct Execution of Traditional Transactions 40
4.4 Extended Transaction Models 41
4.4.1 Sagas 41
4.4.2 Nested Transactions 43
4.4.3 Open Nested Transactions 44
4.4.4 Multidatabase Transactions 45
4.4.5 Polytransactions 47
4.4.6 S-transaction Model 48
4.4.7 The Carnot Project 49
4.5 Meta-models for Extended Transactions 50
4.5.1 ACTA - A Transaction Meta-model 50
4.5.2 A Transaction Specification and Management Envi-
ronment (TSME) 52
4.6 Towards Transactional Workflows 54
4.6.1 Specification of a Task in a Workflow 55
4.6.2 Task Coordination Requirements 58
4.6.3 Failure-Atomicity Requirements of a Workflow 59
4.6.4 Execution Atomicity Requirements of a Workflow 60
Contents vii
5 ONGOING RESEARCH IN WORKFLOW
AND PROCESS AUTOMATION 63
5.1 Overview 63
5.2 Process Handbook Project 64
5.3 Process Interchange Format 67
5.4 METEOR Multiparadigm Transactional Workflow 67
5.5 APRICOTS 71
5.6 Exotica Project 73
5.7 MENTOR 74
5.8 MOBILE 76
5.9 Panta Rhei Project 77
5.10 Interaction Coordination Nets 78
5.11 VORTEL - Teleservice for Workflow Management 79
5.12 WIDE Consortium 80
5.13 The TriGSflow Model 81
5.14 COACT Model 82
5.15 Microsoft MAPI-WF 83
5.16 Database representation of workflows 83
5.17 OPERA 85
5.18 Migrating Workflows 86
6 STATE OF THE INDUSTRY 91
6.1 Overview of Current Products 91
6.1.1 Characterization of Workflow Products 92
6.1.2 Features of Workflow Products 96
6.1.3 Comparison of Workflow Products 99
6.2 Workflow Management Coalition 100
6.3 Shortcomings and Limitations of Current Products 102
6.4 Shortcomings in technology support for processes 105
6.4.1 Descriptions 105
6.4.2 Modeling and Analysis 106
6.4.3 Enactment 107
REFERENCES 109
INDEX 119
PREFACE
The importance of workflow and process technologies is increasing today as we
see a convergence of communications connectivity and software tools for collab
oration among remote people and computer systems. While this convergence
provides a partial framework for large scale collaboration, solutions for the co
ordination of the process of collaboration are missing. Advances in workflow
and process technology will be needed in order to provide truly robust, scalable
and dynamic collaboration environments.
The Microelectronics and Computer Technology Corporation (MCC) and its
member companies carried out a study in 1996 to investigate the state of the
art of workflow and process technology. The study resulted in the creation of a
report that documented the state of the art and identified technology shortcom
ings where further research is needed to meet present and future requirements.
The report focused on the potential synergism attainable through a merger of
process modeling, workflow, and advanced transaction management technolo
gies.
Based on the results of the study, MCC initiated the Collaboration Manage
ment Infrastructure (CMI) research project to develop innovative agent-based
process technology that can support the process requirements of dynamically
changing organizations and the requirements of nomadic computing. With a
research focus on the flow of interaction among people and software agents
representing people, the project deliverables will include a scalable, heteroge
neous, ubiquitous and nomadic infrastructure for business processes. The re
sulting technology is being tested in applications that stress an intensive mobile
collaboration among people as part of large, evolving business processes.
The 1996 MCC study report on workflow and process technology has been
used as the basis for this book. The authors would like to acknowledge the
contributions of a number of people and organizations. We were fortunate to
have the expert assistance of Amit Sheth, Baldev Singh, and Ivo Vondrak in
organizing and carrying out the study. They also contributed to the writing of
the study report and the book. Jerry West assisted in the editing and artwork
ix
x WORKFLOW AND PROCESS AUTOMATION
for the book. Contributions of ideas and requirements for the MCC study were
made by a large cross section of the MCC member companies. People in each
of these companies have daily first hand experience with the need for process
improvement and the shortcomings of existing solutions in this area. Hopefully,
the study and this book will help to establish a road map for improvements in
these solutions.
Andrzej Cichocki ([e-mail])
Abdelsalam (Sumi) Helal ([e-mail])
Marek Rusinkiewicz ([e-mail])
Darrell Woelk ([e-mail])
Autin, Texas
1
INTRODUCTION
In every business office there are procedures that are set up to be followed with
the intent of providing increased efficiency, consistency, and quality. Unfortu
nately, the degree to which these procedures are followed often is influenced by
various aspects of the individuals performing the tasks or managing the pro
cedures. Such aspects include human errors and inconsistency, deadline pres
sures, client anxiety, among others. The concepts of process engineering and
workflows embody the ideas of controlling and coordinating complex activities
and interactions among individuals and software components. The achieved
objective is an improved quality and efficiency of computerized work.
A Process defines a description and ordering of work activities across time
and space that is designed to yield specific products or services while ensuring
the organization's overall objectives. It provides a conceptual basis for the
integration and coordination of distributed resources, tasks, and individuals.
Therefore, effective management of processes is critical to the development as
well as sustainment of any organizational capabilities.
Processes define only the structural aspects of organizational functions. As
such, the detailed operation behavior is left open to the discretion of the in
dividuals or entities responsible for executing a particular function, within the
structural constraints specified by the process.
Processes can be mapped into steps and actions that are executed manually.
Alternatively, they can be mapped into workfiows which are process descrip
tions that can be executed automatically by a workflow management system.
A. Cichocki et al., Workflow and Process Automation
© Kluwer Academic Publishers 1998