A role-oriented service system architecture for enterprise process collaboration

Workflow management is a key technique for coordinating various business processes. Traditional workflow systems are often built with the client/server architecture, in which, a single workflow server takes the responsibility of the entire operation. This paper discusses a model-driven process enactment environment, which can support an enterprise businesses collaboration. Some key technologies regarding models and the system are discussed in the paper, including the mappings between activities in process models and the service function of applications, how to use XML in the process model, and other workflow engine techniques. A software architecture supporting role-oriented services within the process-driven enterprise enactment environment has been proposed and implemented. The proposed framework has been validated with a case study in the 4PL business system.