Developing flexible business process management systems using modular computing technologies

Technology concepts and solutions such as object orientation, componentization, Web services, and autonomous agents have been proposed as ways of modeling and developing flexible systems for business process management. However, no explicit linkage has been established between the requirements of flexible process management and the proposed technology support. The objective of this chapter is to investigate how we should apply these modular computing technologies for developing flexible process management solutions by (1) examining the underlying requirements of business process management and (2) relating these requirements to various modular technologies. The underlying requirements of flexible business process management are examined by investigating the key problems with their solutions in business process management, which include decomposition of complex processes, coordination of interactive activities, awareness of dynamic business environments, and flexible resource allocation and coordination. On the other hand, various modular computing technologies for developing flexible systems are examined such as Agent-Oriented Computing (AOC), Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA), Component-Based Development (CBD), and Object-Oriented Programming (OOP). The similarities and basic differences between these technology concepts and solutions are investigated. By matching these technologies to the requirements of flexible business process management, we develop a systemic approach for employing these technologies in developing flexible process management systems. This research is supported by a UGC CERG research grant (No. RGC/HKU7169/07E) from the Hong Kong SAR Government, and a Seed Funding for Basic Research (200611159216) from The University of Hong Kong.

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