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Definition
According to the Workflow Management Coalition, a workflow management system is a system that completely defines, manages, and executes workflows through the execution of software whose order of execution is driven by a computer representation of the workflow logic.
Workflow Model
A workflow model includes two parts: a model of the workflow process, including the activities, their order, and their start and termination conditions, and a model of the organization at which the workflow takes place, including the individual actors, the organizational roles, and departmental units who all perform workflow activities. A workflow process is performed for cases that trigger it (e.g., item order, a candidate’s application). A workflow task performed for a specific case is called “workflow item.” Workflow items are performed by a participant: an organizational actor, role, unit, or resource. An activity is a work item performed by a participant. As stated by Wil van der Aalst, “Workflow management is the glue between the cases, the tasks, and the organization.”
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Recommended Reading
van der Aalst WMP. The application of Petri nets to workflow management. J Circuits Syst Comput. 1998;8(1):21–66.
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Peleg, M. (2018). Workflow Management Systems. In: Liu, L., Özsu, M. (eds) Encyclopedia of Database Systems. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-7993-3_80816-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-7993-3_80816-1
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