Coordinating workflow allocation and execution in mobile environments

Abstract

Workflows have been used successfully to model collaborative activities that have a well-defined structure. Workflow management systems today can execute workflows that range from a simple sequence of tasks to complex business processes, but have a common restriction in that they can only function in settings where the network is stable. This paper represents an initial investigation into the possibility of using workflows in a challenging new domain - that of an ad hoc mobile network - and for a wider purpose - that of supporting arbitary collaborations among groups of people. Moving to a mobile setting introduces many challenges, as the mobility of the participants in a workflow imposes constraints on the allocation of workflow tasks, coordination among participants, and the marshaling of results. We present an algorithm that heuristically allocates tasks to participants based on their capabilities and mobility, and a system that uses spatiotemporal coordination to control and manage workflow execution in a mobile environment. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2007.