Distributed Workflow Management: The TEAM Model

Piccinelli, Giacomo

HP Development Company

关键词: workflow;    process management;    distributed systems;   

RP-ID  :  HPL-98-56

学科分类：计算机科学（综合）

美国|英语

来源: HP Labs

【 摘 要 】

In recent years, workflow systems have been the basis for business-process re-engineering (BPR) but the characteristics of processes are changing and new types of problems need to be addressed. Different organizations dynamically group together to support complex projects requiring different competencies: coordination is fundamental. Focusing on the interaction among distinct distributed PCEs (process- centered environments), we present a network-based system for the definition and enactment of federated (distributed) processes. The distribution and multi- organization problems are transparent to the process designer, who is provided with a CSP-like process- definition language, while the enactment infrastructure exploits the interconnection capability offered by network technology in order to support the cooperation among possibly-distributed execution engines (workflow servers). The interface between a local PCE (workflow client) and the related execution engine depends on both the characteristics of the PCE itself and the autonomy requirements of each organization: fault tolerance and privacy are some of the main issues we tackle. 17 Pages