Integrating Light-WeightWorkflow Management Systems within.pdfVIP

Integrating Light-Weight Workflow Management Systems within Existing Business Environments Peter Muth, Jeanine Weissenfels, Michael Gillmann, Gerhard Weikum University of the Saarland (muth,weissenfels,gilImann,weikum} @cs.uni-sb.de, http://www-dbs.cs.uni-sb.de Abstract management systems are introduced. This is not only true for the application programs implementing the activities of a workflow, Workjlow management systems support the eficient, largely au- but also for the control flow. Examples are shell scripts for invoking tomated execution of business processes. Howevel; using a application programs according to the outcome of other applica- workflow management system typically requires implementing the tions, timer-controlled invocations of applications, stored database application ’s controljlow exclusively by the workflow management procedures in combination with trigger definitions, or even pro- system. This approach is powerful cf the control flow is specified grams in high-level programming languages that access databases and implemented from scratch, but it has severe drawbacks if a and invoke other applications. In the following, we refer to such ex- workflow management system is to be integrated within environ- isting control flow implementations as scripts. Since existing busi- ments with existing solutions for