A Case Study: Using Workflow and Ai Planners

This paper argues that the use of AI planning techniques with existing Workflow Management Systems can improve overall system functionality and help to automate the definition of business processes. It is based on a short study carried out at BT Research Laboratories as part of a larger programme that aims to provide technologies for a new generation of business support systems. An initial overview of an operational system is introduced to discuss about some of the background to the problem and how these problems can be resolved using contingent planners. We describe a simple construction problem to demonstrate the advantages of the approach advocated.