Dependency Based Coordination for Consistent Solutions in Distributed Work

Many orga~lizat~ional problems can be decoinposed into nearly iildepeizdent subproblems the solution of which is the responsibility of independent agents. In this kind of work, which we call distributed work, the problems are only nearly independent since dependencies exist between the comlllitinents required from each agent. As a consequence of these dependencies, the coordination problelll becoines one of maintaining a consistent global solution in the face of the possibly conflicting activities of each agent. We define a normative model for coordination pr~t~ocols that indicates the formal requirements for maintaining a globally consistent solution. The model identifies several properties that the protocol must enforce, namely serializability, atomiczty, conzplete~iess, and soundness. We show that these properties are desirable in coordination protocols for distributed work problems.