Governing the contract lifecycle: A framework for sequential configuration of loosely-coupled systems

Abstract

Sequential configuration is a fundamental pattern that occurs when integrating systems that span domains and levels of abstraction. This task involves not only the integration of heterogeneous autonomous information systems, but also the integration of processes and applications. Challenges include the lack of a common information model, the lack of explicit correlations, and the lack of common taxonomies between the systems. We propose here an extensible system for correlating sequential configurations across loosely-coupled systems. Our system includes a framework that defines fundamental abstractions and interfaces that enable the implementation of domain-specific models. We also provide a suite of tools that work upon objects that implement our framework's interfaces and abstractions. The tools can then be used to support applications that manage the configuration lifecycle. We have implemented a prototype application, called the Deal Configurator, on top of our framework. The Deal Configurator integrates the processes, tools, and data involved in the first two stages of the contract lifecycle. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2005.