Business Process Management (BPM) - Students

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Michael Adams Email: m3.adams@qut.edu.au

Title: Facilitating Dynamic Flexibility, Evolution and Exception Handling for Workflows

Principal Supervisor: Assoc. Prof. Arthur ter Hofstede

Associate Supervisors: Dr. David Edmond & Prof. Wil van der Aalst

Expected Completion: February 2007

Abstract: Workflow management systems (WfMS) are used to configure and control structured business processes from which well-defined workflow models and instances can be derived. However, the proprietary process definition frameworks imposed by WfMSs make it difficult to support (i) dynamic evolution (i.e. modifying process definitions during execution) following unexpected or developmental change in the business processes being modelled; and (ii) process exceptions, or deviations from the prescribed process model at runtime.

This research re-examines the fundamental theoretical principles underpinning workflow technologies to derive and deliver the implementation of a service that provides dynamic flexibility, evolution and exception handling in workflows based, not on proprietary frameworks, but on accepted ideas of how people actually work. The "Worklet Service" uses a Service Oriented Architecture to provide an extensible repertoire of self-contained processes that are dynamically selected at runtime based on the context of the particular work instance. The service is extremely adaptable and multi-faceted, and allows a designer to provide tailor-made solutions to runtime process selections and exceptions.