1

Workflow Management

Systems

:

Functions, architecture, products.

Wil van der

Aalst

Eindhoven University of Technology
Faculty of Technology Management
Department of Information and Technology
P.O. Box 513
5600 MB Eindhoven
The Netherlands
[e-mail]

2

Workflow Management

Systems

• A Workflow Management System (WFMS) is a generic

software package used to build a Workflow System (WFS).

• More than 250 workflow management systems are

available.

• It is possible to “do” workflow management without using

a workflow management system.

• However, workflow management systems:

– facilitate workflow management efforts

(analyze/change),

– lead to concrete concepts and terms.

• Workflow Management Coalition (WfMC)

– founded in 1993, 170 members, 24 countries
– terminology, standard interfaces, promotion

3

Basic

idea

• Separation of control and execution.

workflow

management

system

application

control

(process logistics)

execution

(task oriented)

4

WfMC Reference

model

Process

Definition Tools

Administration

& Monitoring

Tools

Interface 1

Interface 4

Interface 5

Work flow Enactment Service

Work flow API and Interchange formats

Other Work flow

Enactment Service(s)

Workflow

Client

Applications

Interface 3

Interface 2

Work flow

Engine(s)

Work flow

Engine(s)

Invok ed

Applications

5

Data inside a

WFS

proces

definition

tool

resource

classification

tool

analysis

tool

proces

definitions

resource

classifications

analysis

data

workflow

engine(s)

registration

generator

operational

control

data

historical

data

internal

data

Logistical

control

data

other

workflow

systems

customized

in-basket

standard

in-basket

automatical

applications

interactive

applications

application

data

operational

tool

triggers

control

tool/report

6

Interfa

ces

Process

Definition Tools

Administration

& Monitoring

Tools

Interface 1

Interface 4

Interface

5

Workflow Enactment Service

Other Workflow

Enactment Service(s)

Workflow

Client

Applications

Interface 3

Interface 2

Workflow

Engine(s)

Workflow

Engine(s)

Invoked

Applications

Published in Handbook

Demo’s

Weak!

7

Potential

problem

workflow

management

system

application

In-basket

application

server

client

database

Interface 3

workflow

engine

DBMS

in-basket

(worklist)

applications

server

client

8

The ACID-properties, known from transaction

processing, should hold.

• Atomicity

(atomic, "everything or nothing", rollback if necessary)

• Consistency

(a completed task results in a proper state of the

system)

• Isolation

(tasks do not affected each other, even if they are

executed in parallel)

• Durability

(the result of a completed task may not get lost; commit

tasks)

9

Technical

infrastructure

hardware

operating

system

network

software

database

management

system

workflow

management

system

applications

10

Realization of a designed

workflow

• (Hardware, operating system, network, DBMS, ...)
• (Installation of WFMS)
• Configuring the WFMS
• Implementing new applications to be used in the

workflow

• Embedding of old applications

(legacy software, emulation, screen scraping, ..)

• Testing and validating the workflow
• Motivating and training employees

11

Users of a

WFS

workflow

management

systeem

administrator

process analist

workflow

designer

end-user

manager

application

designer/

programmer

database

designer/

programmer

applications

12

Some systems

• COSA (Thiel Logistik AG/Ley GmbH/COSA Solutions BV),
• Domino Workflow (Lotus, IBM),
• Eastman (Eastman),
• HP Changengine (Hewlett-Packard),
• FLOWer (Pallas Athena),
• Forté Conductor (Forte/SUN),
• I-Flow (Fujitsu),
• InConcert (TIBCO),
• Meteor (University of Georgia),
• Mobile (University of Erlangen),
• MQ Series Workflow (IBM),
• R/3 Workflow (SAP AG),
• Staffware (Staffware PLC),
• Verve (Verve Inc.),
• Visual WorkFlo (FileNET),
• and many, many others.

13

An example of a WFMS:

Staffware

• Staffware is one of the leading workflow

management systems.

• Staffware is used by more than 550,000 users

worldwide and runs on more than 4500 servers

(1999).

• Staffware has had about 25 percent of the global

market over the last couple of years..

• The routing elements used by Staffware are the

Start, Step, Wait, Condition, and Stop.

• The system uses a client-server architecture:

Staffware client, Workqueue manager, Staffware

server, Administration tool, and bGraphical workflow

designer.

• See also http://www.staffware.com

14

15

16

17

18

19

group queues (e.g., role based)

personal queue

20

work items

21

22

Two

examples

• COSA (Software Ley/COSA Solutions)

(traditional, focus on production workflow)

– COSA Network Editor (CONE)
– COSA User Editor (COUE)
– COSA MemoBox (COMB)/COSA Network Displayer

(COND)

– COSA Simulator (COSI)
– COSA Administrator

• ActionWorkflow (Action Technologies)

(alternative approach, focus on coordination)

– ActionWorkflow Process Builder
– ActionWorkflow Process Manager
– Action Metro (WWW)

23

COSA Network Editor

(CONE)

(Based on Petri nets.)

24

COSA User Editor

(COUE)

25

COSA MemoBox

(COMB)

Carl-Adam Petri

Carl-Adam Petri

26

ActionWorkfl

ow

primaire

workflow A

Klant

Manager

Medewerker

secundaire

workflow B

Manager

secundaire

workflow C

Manager

secundaire

workflow E

Manager

secundaire

workflow D

Manager

Medewerker

Medewerker

Medewerker

preparation

performance

completion

negotiation

D en E in parallel

B en C sequentieel

Empasis on coordination, based on speech acts.

Business

Process

Map

27

ActionWorkfl

ow

28

Additional

tools

• BPR tools

– Functions: modeling, communication, documentation,

consistency.

• Simulation tools

– Functions: performance analysis, animation, validation.

• Verfication tools

– Functions: checking properties of the specified workflow.

• Management information tools

– Functions: monitoring and analysis of workflow data.
– Data mining, data warehousing, OLAP (on-line analytical

processing) tools.

29

BPR tool: Protos (Pallas

Athena)

30

process

data and

applications

roles

teams

4 views

31

Simulation tool: ExSpect

(Bakkenist)

32

33

Verification tool: Woflan

(EUT)

34

Examp

le

start

register

send_form

evaluate

process_complaint

check_proc

process_form

time-out

archive

ready

c1

c2

c3

c4

c5

c6

c7

Sound, but
Woflan warns
for c5 construct.

OK

(S-cover, not free-choice, not well-structured, safe, live)

35

Example

(2)

start

register

send_form

evaluate

process_complaint

check_proc

process_form

time-out

archive

ready

c1

c2

c3

c4

c5

c6

Not sound,
Woflan displays
non-well-handled
pairs (register,c5).

(no S-cover, free-choice, not well-structured, not safe, live)

Multiple
termination

36

Example

(3)

start

register

send_form

evaluate

process_complaint

check_proc

process_form

time-out

archive

ready

c1

c2

c3

c4

c5

c6

c7

Not sound,
Woflan indicates
that c8 is not safe
and not in any S-comp.

c8

(no S-cover, free-choice, not well-structured, not safe, live)

Potential
deadlock

37

Example

(4)

start

register

send_form

evaluate

process_complaint

check_proc

process_form

time-out

archive

ready

c1

c2

c3

c4

c5

c6

c7

Not sound,
lower part is not
safe and not in
any S-comp.

(no S-cover, free-choice, not well-structured, not safe, live)

Never
ending
loop

38

Example

(5)

start

register

send_form

evaluate

process_complaint

check_proc

process_form

time-out

archive

ready

c1

c2

c3

c4

c5

c6

c7

Not sound,
Woflan warns
for c3 construct.

(S-cover, not free-choice, not well-structured, safe, not live)

Potential
deadlock

39

Woflan (EUT)

Protos

(Pallas Athena)

ExSpect (BMC/EUT)

COSA

(Software-Ley/

COSA Solutions)

An integrated

toolset