Integrating Light-Weight Workflow Management Systems within Existing Business Environments

Workjlow management systems support the eficient, largely automated execution of business processes. Howevel; using a workflow management system typically requires implementing the application’s controljlow exclusively by the workflow management system. This approach is powerful cf the control flow is specified and implemented from scratch, but it has severe drawbacks if a workflow management system is to be integrated within environments with existing solutions for implementing control flow. Usually, the existing solutions are too complex to be substituted by the workjlow management system at once. Hence, the workjlow management system must support an incremental integration, i.e. the reuse of existing implementations of controljlow as well as their incremental substitution. Extending the workjlow management system’s functionality according to fiture application needs, e.g. by worklist and history management, must also be possible. In particulac at the beginning of an incremental integration process, only a limited amount of a workflow management system’s functionality is actually exploited by the workflow application. Later on, as the integration proceeds, more advanced requirements arise and demand the customization o_f the workfow management system to the evolving application needs. In this paper; we present the architecture and implementation of a light-weight workflow management system, coined Mentor-lite, which aims to overcome the above mentioned shortcomings of conventional workjlow management systems. Mentor-lite supports an easy integration of workjlow functionality into an existing environment, and can be tailored to specific workflow application needs.