A Light Workflow Management System Using Simple Process Models

Abstract

Workflow management systems are considereda hot technology. Nevertheless, up to now they havenot had the diffusion other packages such asproductivity tools, E-mail systems and groupwareplatforms have. We believe that this fact is due tothe many limitations of current workflow technology(weak support for changes; complex exception handlingmechanisms; limited openness to and integrability withother system components;...) and that radically newworkflow management systems should be designed anddeveloped in order to offer adequate products to themarket. In this paper, we outline the main innovativefeatures of the workflow management component of theMilano system making it highly flexible and adaptable.Particular attention is paid to its modellingframework, which is based on a class of net systemswell supported by efficient algorithms, and to theservices it offers to both workflow designers andactors. The most relevant aspects of the MILANOworkflow management system are also illustratedthrough a realistic example.