Abstract
Although workflow management systems are most applicable when an organization follows standard business processes and routines, any of these processes faces the need for handling exceptions, i.e., asynchronous and anomalous situations that fall outside the normal control flow. In this paper we concentrate upon anomalous situations that, although unusual, are part of the semantics of workflow applications, and should be specified and monitored coherently; in most real-life applications, such exceptions affect a significant fraction of workflow cases. However, very few workflow management systems are integrated with a highly expressive language for specifying this kind of exception and with a system component capable of handling it. We present Chimera-Exc, a language for the specification of exceptions for workflows based on detached active rules, and then describe the architecture of a system, called FAR, that implements Chimera-Exc and integrates it with a commercial workflow management system and database server. We discuss the main issues that were solved by our implementation, and report on the performance of FAR. We also discuss design criteria for exceptions in light of the formal properties of their execution. Finally, we focus on the portability of FAR and on its unbundling to a generic architecture with detached active rules.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 405-451 |
| Number of pages | 47 |
| Journal | ACM Transactions on Database Systems |
| Volume | 24 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| Publication status | Published - Sep 1999 |
| Externally published | Yes |
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Keywords
- Active rules
- Asynchronous events
- Design
- Exceptions
- H.2.4 [Database Management]: Systems; Rule-based databases
- Languages
- Management
- Performance
- Workflow management systems
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Information Systems
Cite this
Specification and Implementation of Exceptions in Workflow Management Systems. / Casati, Fabio; Ceri, Stefano; Paraboschi, Stefano; Pozzi, Giuseppe.
In: ACM Transactions on Database Systems, Vol. 24, No. 3, 09.1999, p. 405-451.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Specification and Implementation of Exceptions in Workflow Management Systems
AU - Casati, Fabio
AU - Ceri, Stefano
AU - Paraboschi, Stefano
AU - Pozzi, Giuseppe
PY - 1999/9
Y1 - 1999/9
N2 - Although workflow management systems are most applicable when an organization follows standard business processes and routines, any of these processes faces the need for handling exceptions, i.e., asynchronous and anomalous situations that fall outside the normal control flow. In this paper we concentrate upon anomalous situations that, although unusual, are part of the semantics of workflow applications, and should be specified and monitored coherently; in most real-life applications, such exceptions affect a significant fraction of workflow cases. However, very few workflow management systems are integrated with a highly expressive language for specifying this kind of exception and with a system component capable of handling it. We present Chimera-Exc, a language for the specification of exceptions for workflows based on detached active rules, and then describe the architecture of a system, called FAR, that implements Chimera-Exc and integrates it with a commercial workflow management system and database server. We discuss the main issues that were solved by our implementation, and report on the performance of FAR. We also discuss design criteria for exceptions in light of the formal properties of their execution. Finally, we focus on the portability of FAR and on its unbundling to a generic architecture with detached active rules.
AB - Although workflow management systems are most applicable when an organization follows standard business processes and routines, any of these processes faces the need for handling exceptions, i.e., asynchronous and anomalous situations that fall outside the normal control flow. In this paper we concentrate upon anomalous situations that, although unusual, are part of the semantics of workflow applications, and should be specified and monitored coherently; in most real-life applications, such exceptions affect a significant fraction of workflow cases. However, very few workflow management systems are integrated with a highly expressive language for specifying this kind of exception and with a system component capable of handling it. We present Chimera-Exc, a language for the specification of exceptions for workflows based on detached active rules, and then describe the architecture of a system, called FAR, that implements Chimera-Exc and integrates it with a commercial workflow management system and database server. We discuss the main issues that were solved by our implementation, and report on the performance of FAR. We also discuss design criteria for exceptions in light of the formal properties of their execution. Finally, we focus on the portability of FAR and on its unbundling to a generic architecture with detached active rules.
KW - Active rules
KW - Asynchronous events
KW - Design
KW - Exceptions
KW - H.2.4 [Database Management]: Systems; Rule-based databases
KW - Languages
KW - Management
KW - Performance
KW - Workflow management systems
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UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=0000865747&partnerID=8YFLogxK
M3 - Article
VL - 24
SP - 405
EP - 451
JO - ACM Transactions on Database Systems
JF - ACM Transactions on Database Systems
SN - 0362-5915
IS - 3
ER -