Workflow Management and Databases

Workflow management systems are among the most interesting concepts for supporting modern organizations with a focus on processes rather than on structure. Workflow management systems offer different degrees of automation of business processes. We classify workflow management systems according to the features they provide and the types of processes they support. Database systems facilitate the realization of workflow management systems in several ways. They can provide the necessary functionality to keep the workflow relevant data, business data as well as process data. The dynamic execution of workflows can be handled by triggers of active database systems. Furthermore, the transaction concept can be extended to develop workflow transactions for consistent execution of workflows and intelligent treatment of exceptions and errors.