Process fragmentation,distribution and execution using an event-based interaction scheme

The combination of service oriented architectures and business processes creates an enactment environment in which processes can be deployed and executed automatically. From a managerial and technical point of view, the interpretation, control and execution of a process flow happen very often at one point in the organizational and IT structure. This creates an inflexible environment in which control over and visibility of cross-departmental processes cannot be distributed across these organizational entities. Although the process model may need to be designed as a whole (to have an end-to-end definition), the actual execution of the process may need to be distributed across all participating partners. There are several ways to achieve this distribution. In this paper, we look at an event-based process deployment and execution infrastructure in which a process model can be automatically partitioned and distributed over different enactment entities, provided some given distribution definition. We compare the performance and flexibility of the proposed technique with other approaches and discuss the potential advantages and drawbacks of the event-based distribution.