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Anatomy of Workflow Management

Anatomy of Workflow Management. Relationship Between Concepts. Business Process. (i.e what is intended to happen ). Is defined in a. Is managed by. Workflow Management System. Process Definition. (a representation of what is intended to happen). (controls automated aspects of the

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Anatomy of Workflow Management

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  1. Anatomy of Workflow Management

  2. Relationship Between Concepts Business Process (i.e what is intended to happen ) Is defined in a Is managed by Workflow Management System Process Definition (a representation of what is intended to happen) (controls automated aspects of the business process via) Used to manage and create Sub-Processes Composed of Process Instances (a representation of what is actually happening) Activities Include one or more Which may be Activity Instances During execution are represented by or Which include Manual Activities Automated Activities And/Or (which are not managed as part of the Workflow system) Work Items Invoked Applications (tasks allocated to a workflow participant) (computer tools/applications used to support an activity) SOURCE: WFMC

  3. Business Process Analysis , Modeling & Definition Process Design & Definition Build Time Process Definition Run Time Process Instantiation & Control Workflow Enactment Service Applications & IT Tools Interactions with Users & Application Tools Workflow Management Issues (WfMC)

  4. Workflow Implementation =workflow application Workflow specification Process • Executable application code • Enactment Service/ Run- time Support Business Process Modeling/Reengineering(BPM/R) Workflow model & specification language Workflow Management IssuesGeorgakopoulos,Hornick, Sheth

  5. WF Development Toolkit WF Enactment Service (run-time system and tools) PM Toolkit • process specification - process view - org. view • process analysis re-engineering • TQM advisor • ... • graphical workflow design • testing • simulation • animation • scheduling • task manager/ interfaces • processing entities • monitoring • tracking • reporting • ... Workflow Management System: Conceptual Architecture (system components)

  6. WFMS Features - I • Monitoring, tracking, auditing, reporting • Authorization; Security • Interoperability, WfMC interfaces • Multiple computing platforms and communications infrastructures • Load balancing • Versioning and life-cycle • Scalability: Partly distributed enactment service (multiple server support); Fully distributed enactment service (engine)

  7. WFMS Features - II • Refinement and reuse, testing • Visualization and Animation; Simulation; What-if analysis and Reengineering • Transactional support • Integrity/Synchronization/CC (data access, within workflow, across workflows) • Error handling; Automatic and manual recovery/restart, robustness • Adaptive/Dynamic workflow support-- change definition for workflow in progress

  8. Process Analysis Thanks: Stef Joosten

  9. Purpose • To ensure that the right people understand the necessary facts about an organizational process. Thanks: Stef Joosten

  10. Goal and Objective • shared understanding • trigger model • need-to-know only Thanks: Stef Joosten

  11. reject deliver complaint ackn. filing a complaint analyze log summarize ackn. negotiate solution consent approve execute solution negotiate satisfaction Complaint Procedure customer repres’ive inspector manager librarian Thanks: Stef Joosten

  12. How to get there? • Who to talk to? (roles) • What do you do? (activities) • What prompts you to do it? (triggers) • Follow links, and repeat. Thanks: Stef Joosten

  13. Sources • Interviews: time consuming, rich secondary information • Meetings: quick, obscure social process • Paper: unobtrusive, no learning Thanks: Stef Joosten

  14. Workflow Models

  15. task start task task end filter task interface interface interface proc. entity proc. entity proc. entity A Workflow Process Model (high level view) from the METEOR (Managing End-To-End OpeRations) system

  16. Terminology Example (METEOR1) controlled by specified by WFSL Scheduler Workflow coordinates is composed of Compound Task is a enacted by Task Task Manager is composed of is a specified by executed on Simple Task TSL Proc. Entity

  17. Workflow Process Activity Process Definition Meta Model refers to Workflow Process Definition consists of (Sub)Process Definition Workflow Process Relevant Data may use is implemented as from to Atomic Activity may use is performed by invokes Workflow Participant Definition Workflow Application Definition Transition Information SOURCE: WFMC

  18. Basic Model Components • Workflow (process) class (schema) to model a(n) (business/organizational) process • Task, activity or step • Task coordination/linking or Control flow (serial/parallel-resync/list/queues/network, rules/triggers, dependencies/conditions) • Data flow or sharing (explicit passing, shared data, common variables) • Processing entities: Users --roles and authorization, worklists; Information Systems

  19. Types of Tasks/Activities • user tasks involving humans in processing task • application tasks involving • scripts for terminal emulation to remote systems • application programs/systems providing data manipulation (filters) • predefined interfaces to legacy application systems (e.g., Bellcore “contracts”) • stored procedure calls • client programs or servers invoking other servers • database transactions

  20. Types of Processing Entities • humans (may appear as a GUI; may use document/image processing systems and applications) • script interpreters and compilers(for processing scripts and application programs) • (legacy) application systems • servers in client-server and transaction processing systems • DBMSs

  21. Additional Modeling Features • Tasks: non-transactional, transactional • Execution environment/infrastructure/configuration: execution location, interfaces • Deadline • Exception Handling (Error Handling, Recovery) specification

  22. Initial Initial Initial start start start Executing Executing Executing abort fail done commit done abort Done prepared Aborted Committed Failed Done Prepared Non-Transactional Transactional commit abort Aborted [Attie et al 93, also see METUFlow] Committed Open 2PC transactional Modeling Heterogeneous Tasks Different state transition diagrams for different types of tasks representing what is observable and what is controllableby the WFMSs

  23. Partial Model of a Simple Workflow task B task A Compound Task task C

  24. Formal Basis for Models • High level Petri nets • State and Activity charts • Temporal logic • Process Algebra • Graph based models • (Rules) But limitations wrt to what is modeled using formal models. Often limited to workflow maps/graphs, inter-task dependencies.

  25. Workflow (Specification) Analysis “A clear theoretical basis and correctness criteria must be established which enable the runtime system to efficiently reason about the correctness of a requested change ...” In the context of dynamic modifications [ADEPTflex/Univ. ULM]

  26. Types Of Analysis • Validation - interactive simulation • Verification (establishing correctness of a workflow) - advanced analysis techniques • Performance Analysis - throughput etc.

  27. Correctness For (Dynamic) Workflow • Structural properties • Control flow, Data flow, Temporal constraints • Reachability, Termination, Deadlocks, Data inconsistency, Missing input data • Other Workflow characteristics • Reassignment of task to agents • Changes in organizational schema • Access to external databases

  28. Modeling in Enterprise

  29. WfMS Architectures

  30. WFMS Architectures - I • Message oriented (the “lightweight” approach) • workflow process definition is part of messages • Repository oriented (the “heavyweight” approach) • workflow process definition is stored in a repository/database Trade-off: infrastructure technology needed, robustness, ease of modification

  31. task task end task start task Message Oriented Architecture • flow of structured messages between performers/users;store and forward (messaging) model • process definition part of messages (usually not stored in a repository) • lack of accessible and manipulable process definition => difficulty in knowing status (monitoring), progress (tracking), and reuse • origins in enhances e-mails and electronic forms • Product examples: BeyondMail (Beyond), FormFlow (Delrina),… • Research examples: INCAs

  32. Example of a Message Oriented Architecture - JTM (Job Transfer & Manipulation) Initiation agency Source agency Execution/Source agency Sink agency 1 4 3 4 3 5 2 2 2 Lower Level Service Provider LEGEND 1. Job Submission 2. Transfer of Work Specification (WS) 3. Document Collection Work Specification Document Proforma 4.Document Disposal 5.Spawning

  33. task task end task start task task task task task Repository Oriented Architecture • modeling of execution of process components • both local view of individual execution component and of complete process • repository of definitions to support reuse • use of databases or common/shared storage, usually supporting monitoring, tracking • some have formal models as basis (e.g., petrinets)

  34. WFMS Architecture - II Workflow as Distributed/ Cooperating Objects Fully Distributed Mobile Agents Multiple Servers Client-Server/ Web-enabled Centralized Engine/Single Server

  35. Scheduler Dispatching Service Monitoring Service TM1 TM2 TM3 TMn Task1 Task2 Task3 Taskn Highly Centralized Architecture [Miller et al 96]

  36. Dispatching Service Scheduler Monitoring Service TA1 TA2 TA3 TAn IDL TM1 TM2 TM3 TMn IDL Task1 Task2 Task3 Taskn Synchronous Centralized Architecture [Miller et al 96]

  37. Scheduler Monitoring Service Message Collecting Service Dispatcher Asyn IDL Asyn IDL Asyn IDL Asyn IDL TM1 TM2 TMn IDL IDL IDL Task1 Task2 Taskn Asynchronous Centralized Architecture [Miller et al 96]

  38. Scheduler Message Collecting Service Dispatcher Monitoring Service Asyn IDL Asyn IDL Asyn IDL Asyn IDL TM1 TM2 TMn Asyn IDL Asyn IDL IDL IDL IDL Task1 Task2 Taskn Partially Distributed Architecture [Miller et al 96]

  39. Fully Distributed Architecture Monitor Service Sched. Sched. TM TM Sched. IDL Sched. TM TM task task Sched. task TM task task [Miller et al 96]

  40. A1 An An A1 WMS WMS W1 Wn ln Infrastructure Infrastructure l1 Horizontal Multi-paradigm (infrastructure) Vertical Going Forward --Commercial technology:(Development Vs. Market Models) A: Market/Application Domain(Healthcare, Financial, Mfg.,...) W: Workflow Management System I: Infrastructure

  41. Trends: Horizontal and Vertical Focus • Horizontal “Interoperability” Focus • Workflow Coalition - widely accepted terminology, interfaces for workflow and workflow tools interoperability, lack of “information system” perspective and “transaction” support so far • OMG Workflow Facility - more impact on run-time • Vertical “Market” Focus • started to receive attention in Healthcare, Finance, and Manufacturing • Application/domain specific SIGs are forming

  42. Multi-paradigm Workflows Workflow applications in large/complex enterprises and those spanning multiple enterprises require support for multiple paradigms in terms of: • Types of workflows: production, ad-hoc • Using and supporting multiple computing and Communication infrastructures: • Async (e-mail, document flow/work-group based, message based) • Sync (RPC, t-RPC) • local-area, internet, wireless • Computing structures/semantics: e.g., transactions in: Electronic Commerce, Transaction Processing Systems, and DBMSs

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