Workflow View Based E-Contracts in a Cross-Organizational E-Services Environment

In an e-service environment, workflow involves not only a single organization but also a number of business partners. Therefore, workflow inter-operability in such an environment is an important issue for enacting workflows. In this article, we introduce our approach of using workflow views as a fundamental support for E-service workflow inter-operability and for controlled visibility of (sub-)workflows by external parties. We discuss various aspects of a workflow view, and their semantics with example usage. Furthermore, we develop a contract model based on workflow views and demonstrate how management of e-contracts can be facilitated, with an Internet start-up E-service inter-organization workflow example.     

Exception Handling for Conflict Resolution in Cross-Organizational Workflows

Workflow management systems (WfMSs) are being increasingly deployed to deliver e-business transactions across organizational boundaries. To ensure a high service quality in such transactions, exception-handling schemes for conflict resolution are needed. The conflicts primarily arise due to failure of a task in workflow execution because of underlying application, or controlling WfMS component failures or insufficient user input. So far, little progress has been reported in addressing conflict resolution in cross-organizational business processes, though its importance has been recognized. In this paper, we identify the exception handling techniques that support conflict resolution in cross-organizational settings. In particular, we propose a novel, bundled exception-handling approach, which supports (1) exception knowledge sharing--sharing exception specifications and handling experiences, (2) coordinated exception handling, and (3) intelligent problem solving--using case based reasoning to reuse exception handing experiences. A prototype of this exception handling mechanism is developed and integrated as a part of the METEOR Workflow Management System. An evaluation of our approach is also presented through some sample workflow applications.     

基于Pi演算的跨组织工作流建模研究

传统的工作流建模方法主要用于描述组织内部流程,因而难以描述跨组织工作流面向流程、组合、抽象、涉及多个自治系统通信合作的新特点.针对此问题,提出了一种基于Pi演算的跨组织工作流建模方法,利用Pi演算的并发计算操作符,将跨组织业务流程建模为一组自治且并发执行的组织内子流程的组合,子流程建模为组织内本地流程定义和组织间控制约束的组合.基于Pi演算的弱互相似理论,验证了两个跨组织子流程外部行为的相等性,用于帮助组织内私有流程的外部抽象.基于该方法建立的跨组织工作流模型在子流程间建立了一种松耦合的关系,适用于动态的跨组织环境,同时基于严格的形式化方法,便于分析和验证.     

Web服务组合中商业事务处理的研究

Web服务组合已经成为业界的研发热点．在Web服务组合中，不同的成员Web服务之间存在着操作一致性和可靠性的处理要求，需要在Web服务组合中提供对于事务处理的支持．尽管目前业界已经存在许多的Web服务组合模型和描述语言，但是都没有提供对于事务处理的支持．本文分析了Web服务组合中的事务处理需求，通过扩展在Web服务组合描述语言中已经占据主导地住的BPEL4WS规范，在BPEL4WS中引入了对于主流的Web服务事务协议的支持，并在此基础上实现了一个原型系统TAWSCRS．     

一种新的B2B电子商务过程建模方法

针对当前B2B电子商务标准和跨组织的工作流过程建模语言存在的过程描述能力比较差的问题,提出了一种新的B2B电子商务过程建模方法。该方法基于ebXML的业务过程规范模型(BPSS)并将它扩充和一般化,从而有效地实现了B2B电子商务过程模型的建立。     

ObjectFlow: Towards a process management infrastructure

As businesses feel competitive and economic pressures to automate and streamline their operations, they examine their day-to-day business processes and look to business process reengineering pratices to provide solutions. Improved networking capabilities and the widescale adoption of open systems architectures have allowed businesses to tie their information systems together and share data across departments. The challenge now involves coordinating and automating the flow of work between people and groups in an organization. This has prompted the emergence of a new kind of infrastructure, workflow enabler, which provides a model for business processes, and a foundation on which to build solutions supporting the execution and management of business processes. This article examines the technology trends, business benefits, and requirements which have lead to this development. It describes the logical structure and an operational model of an open workflow system, and positions ObjectFlow, a software product, within this framework to illustrate the concepts.     

基于Web服务面向虚拟企业的柔性工作流管理技术研究

虚拟企业中盟员和其提供的服务是动态变化的．文中提出将工作流过程模型描述的活动规范中包含一个或多个Web服务请求,通过引入Web服务和Web服务请求的定义和约束,在活动实例的执行过程中实现Web服务请求与最佳Web服务提供企业动态的服务绑定和调用,由于虚拟企业内部的变化不会影响到各盟员业务过程的正常运行,因此具有较高的柔性和自适应性．     

Delivering customer services online: identifying best practices of medium-sized enterprises

Abstract. The importance of using the internet to achieve competitive advantage has been well documented. Many companies have benefited from capturing customers' interest in buying via the web. Additionally, an ever-expanding of technologies exist that enable firms to provide additional customer services online. Yet for many firms, determining which customer service applications to use can be perplexing. This study examines the practices of small- and medium-sized enterprises and analyses performance results of adopting selected customer service applications on the internet.     

支持虚拟企业的过程建模和工作流管理系统

针对虚拟企业提出了一种基于产品开发制造全过程分解和活动描述的形式化过程建模方法,在组成过程的任务中存在许多约束关系,如使能约束和促进约束,每个任务可以分解成许多活动,可以用企业本体论来表示这些活动、任务、状态和约束等,企业本体论是以情景演算来表示语义的,同时,建立了与过程模型相分离的组织模型活动、任务、状态和约束等,企业本体论是以情景演算来表示语义的。同时,建立了与过程模型相分离的组织模型;在此基础上,建立了一个工作流管理系统来支持虚拟的运行。文中提出一种由活动模型、意向模型、技能模型和伙伴模型等构成的Agent模型,来实现工作流管理,并通过构建可嵌套的Agent联帮增强系统的柔性。     

实现虚拟企业的需求分析

在全球市场激烈竞争的压力下，制造业正寻求构成短期合作伙伴或联盟－虚拟企业，以致力于快速变化的商机，这种新的协同形式需要突破传统系统的局限，重构业务流程，通过稳妥可行的步骤，采用适当的服务，并运行于信息基础结构框架和结构之上。     

Web Services and Business Transactions

Process oriented workflow systems and e-business applications require transactional support in order to orchestrate loosely coupled services into cohesive units of work and guarantee consistent and reliable execution. In this paper we introduce a multi-level transaction model that provides the necessary independence for the participating resource managers, e.g., local database and workflow servers, of organisations engaging in business transactions that are composed of interacting web services. We also present a taxonomy of e-business transaction features such as unconventional atomicity criteria, the need for support for business conversations and the need for distinguishing between three basic business transaction phases. In addition, we review current research and standard activities and outline the main ingredients of a business transaction framework necessary for building flexible e-business applications.     

An Intelligent Data Integration Approach for Collaborative Project Management in Virtual Enterprises

The increasing globalization and flexibility required by companies has generated new issues in the last decade related to the managing of large scale projects and to the cooperation of enterprises within geographically distributed networks. ICT support systems are required to help enterprises share information, guarantee data-consistency and establish synchronized and collaborative processes. In this paper we present a collaborative project management system that integrates data coming from aerospace industries with a main goal: to facilitate the activity of assembling, integration and the verification of a multi-enterprise project. The main achievement of the system from a data management perspective is to avoid inconsistencies generated by updates at the sources’ level and minimizes data replications. The developed system is composed of a collaborative project management component supported by a web interface, a multi-agent data integration system, which supports information sharing and querying, and web-services that ensure the interoperability of the software components. The system was developed by the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Gruppo Formula S.p.A. and tested by Alenia Spazio S.p.A. within the EU WINK Project (Web-linked Integration of Network based Knowledge—IST-2000-28221).     

一个基于Web Service的支持虚拟企业B2B的使能系统

基于Web Service、融合当今几个主流B2B规范标准优势(RosettaNet、UDDI、ebXML)，提出了一个支持企业动态联盟的B2B使能系统．文中给出了系统的总体结构，详细地介绍了系统内e—UDDI注册中心的信息组成模式，描述了发布、查询和调用服务的安全控制机制、服务代理机制以及商务合作的两级协调控制策略．     

一种新的交易事务处理程序设计方法

本文在研究目标、交易、过程、功能之间的层次关系的基础上,分析了过程划分方法及其特性,提出了微码矩阵的概念,并根据微码矩阵设计了一种新的交易事务处理程序的设计方法。该方法具有过程之间接口简单,过程设计和调试相对独立、并行,修改和扩充系统容易,数据具有一致性和完整性等优点。     

基于过程组件模型的流程引擎设计

针对目前工作流界标准众多、流程引擎和定义语言绑定、各业务领域重复开发流程引擎的现状,设计并实现一种基于过程组件模型的流程引擎框架。该框架采用流程虚拟机的架构设计,从多个流程语言提取流程的共性,摈除流程语言问活动类型的差异性,从流程定义中分离节点执行定义,从而支持多种流程定义语言。验证结果表明了该设计的可行性。这种过程组件框架能够降低从业务模型到流程定义语言之间的损耗,实现流程引擎与流程语言的解耦。     

虚拟企业的安全交互模型

虚拟企业是由异构企业组成的临时动态联盟，在实际的运作中与普通企业有很大的不同，现有的各种企业CA信任模型(如等级模型、对等模型等)都无法适应虚拟企业安全交互的需求，而虚拟CA，即：VCA，为虚拟企业的安全交互提供了一种新的方法和思路，针对原有VCA方案的不足和缺陷，并结合两个虚拟企业的典型实际案例，分析出虚拟企业的主要特点和要求，由此构建了新的VCA模型，并提出了此VCA模型的比较完整的安全解决方案。     

面向跨组织业务流程的服务组合策略

动态服务组合为跨组织业务流程的快速开发提供了重要技术支撑.传统的集中规划的组合方式不能很好适应开放环境所提要求.提出一种基于分布式层次任务网络的服务组合策略,分析了实现该策略的组件的结构和功能,并定义组件间的Web服务接口,给出该策略下跨组织流程的开发方式,并以应用实例说明该策略对开放组织之间业务流程开发的有效支持.     

HCM:一个虚拟企业协同工作描述模型

协同工作，作为支撑虚拟企业的关键技术之一，它在虚拟企业中的应用方面的研究尚处于初始阶段，目前还没有用于描述虚拟企业整体协作关系和协作方式的模型．提出的层次协同模型(HCM)在总结虚拟企业协同工作的三大特点——层次性、动态性及自组织性——的基础上，采用了一个四元组对虚拟企业的协同工作进行了整体描述，其中用有限状态马尔可夫链对模型进行了动态描述，该描述能对虚拟企业的动态协同趋势进行预测，为决策支持提供重要参考，最后提出了一种HCM逻辑层次的协同级的实现策略．     

基于流程模式的工作流静态规划方法

现有的工作流规划方法通常对工作流执行引擎有特殊要求,使其不容易直接应用到已有的工作流系统中。针对这一问题,提出一种基于流程模式的工作流静态规划方法,通过对规划得到的工作流定义进行适配处理,使其能够直接在企业现有的工作流引擎上执行。流程定义优化让规划得到的工作流定义能够高效执行,将规划功能本身作为一个流程嵌入已有的工作流系统,使工作流规划的细节对用户透明。     

工作流管理系统的流程柔性动态变更研究

为解决工作流管理系统中流程柔性演进变化问题,结合业务模型生命周期和业务流程模型变更管理的特点,提出了一个支持业务流程动态更新模型和业务流程实例动态迁移算法。在该算法中引入区域划分法,在迁移之前进行相关数据一致性检查和影响区域比较,通过该算法实现流程实例动态调整,以适应新的变种。最后基于该算法和一工作流管理系统平台,通过一个案例来演示业务流程动态更新的过程。