Workflow data patterns

N.C. Russell, A.H.M. Hofstede, ter, D. Edmond, W.M.P. Aalst, van der

Research output: Book/ReportReportAcademic

Abstract

Workflow systems seek to provide an implementation vehicle for complex, recurring business processes. Notwithstanding this common objective, there are a variety of distinct features offered by commercial workflow management systems. These differences result in significant variations in the ability of distinct tools to represent and implement the plethora of requirements that may arise in contemporary business processes. Many of these requirements recur quite frequently during the requirements analysis activity for workflow systems and abstractions of these requirements serve as a useful means of identifying the key components of workflow languages. Previous work has identified a number of workflow control patterns which characterise the range of control ow constructs that might be encountered when modelling and analysing workflow. In this paper, we describe a series of workflow data patterns that aim to capture the various ways in which data is represented and utilised in workflows. By delineating these patterns in a form that is independent of specific workflow technologies and modelling languages, we are able to provide a comprehensive treatment of the workflow data perspective and we subsequenty use these patterns as the basis for a detailed comparison of a number of commercially available workflow management systems and business process modelling languages.
Original languageEnglish
Place of PublicationBrisbane
PublisherQueensland University of Technology
Number of pages75
Publication statusPublished - 2004

Publication series

NameQUT Technical report, FIT-TR-2004-01
Volume2004-01

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