A systematic approach for informal communication during workflow execution

Abstract

Informal communication is often necessary during workflow execution despite all attempts to define workflow types completely. Traditionally, workflow participants use an e-mail system to communicate informally during (formal) workflow execution. However, the use of two independent software systems causes a set of significant problems due to the systems’ autonomy: a disjoint data set makes common management and history analysis impossible. This paper analyzes the problems and suggests a systematic approach for informal communication. An extended workflow architecture is reported on that implements informal coordination with a WFMS’s workflow concepts.