Workflow Support for Electronic Commerce Applications

Information Systems Research, 2003

1998

This paper describes a flexible distributed transactional workflow environment based on an extensible object-oriented framework built around class libraries, application programming interfaces, and shared services. The purpose of this environment is to support a range of EC-like business activities including the support of financial transactions and electronic contracts. This environment has as its aim to provide key infrastructure services for mediating and monitoring electronic commerce.

2000

We believe a source of dynamic organizational processes poised for exponential growth is B2B electronic commerce. In addition to serving as aggregators of product information, all major electronic marketplaces (i2, Ariba, CommerceOne, et al.) are developing infrastructure for the sharing of business process definitions and the augmentation of inter-organizational workflows. XML frameworks for the global publication of process information are proliferating (RosettaNet, et al.) with the intention of WWW process discovery and automated inter-organizational interaction. Highly influential consortiums of Fortune 500 organizations are introducing standard extensible frameworks for process discovery and automated webbased business process (workflow) interaction (UDDI). Working, practical infrastructure is rapidly being realized to implement the global virtualization of organizations that has been predicted for some time.

1999

Electronic workflow is automation of a business process during which documents, informations or tasks are passed from one participant to another for action, according to a set of rules . Successful workflow solution is also able to handle exceptions to those roles. In this paper we introduce new web based application designed to achieve maximum efficiency in management of these business processes. We have combined information communication capabilities of the Internet and local Intranet to achieve better process automation and to improve the capabilities of the workflow, with which we easily reached every desktop in the organization.

2002

Abstract A critical point for developing successful information systems for distributed organisations is the need for integrating heterogeneous technologies and tools. This paper reports a case study of integrating two key enabling technologies, namely workflow and document management. Integration is achieved by combining several approaches, including software engineering and hypertexts.

2000

Advanced e-services require efficient, flexible, and easy-to-use workflow technology that integrates well with mainstream Internet technologies such as XML and Web servers. This paper discusses an XML-enabled architecture for distributed workflow management that is implemented in the latest version of our Mentor-lite prototype system. The key asset of this architecture is an XML mediator that handles the exchange of business and flow control data between workflow and business-object servers on the one hand and client activities on the other via XML messages over http. Our implementation of the mediator has made use of Oracle's XSQL servlet. The major benefit of the advocated architecture is that it provides seamless integration of client applications into eservice workflows with scalable efficiency and very little explicit coding, in contrast to an earlier, Java-based, version of our Mentor-lite prototype that required much more code and exhibited potential performance problems.

Electronic commerce research, 2002

The World-Wide-Web is fast becoming a crucial medium for electronic commerce. Many companies are now involved in on-line retailing of goods and services to consumers through the Web. In some industries, business partnerships are being fostered in order to broaden the scope of their markets. One example is the telecommunications industry, where changes in business structure, spirited by deregulation, have resulted in alliances amongst different communications providers, including new players like the utilities and entertainment ...

2000

Abstract The CrossFlow architecture provides support for cross-organisational workflow management in dynamically established virtual enterprises. The creation of a business relationship between a service provider organisation performing a service on behalf of a consumer organisation can be made dynamic when augmented by virtual market technology, the dynamic configuration of the contract enactment infrastructures, and the provision of fine-grained service monitoring and control.

Information Systems, 1999