A Lean Architecture for Blockchain Based Decentralized Process Execution

Abstract

Interorganizational process management bears an enormous potential for improving the collaboration among associated business partners. A major restriction is the need for a trusted third party implementing the process across the participating actors. Blockchain technology can dissolve this lack of trust due to consensus mechanisms. After the rise of cryptocurrencies, the launch of Smart Contracts enables the Ethereum Blockchain to act beyond monetary transactions due to the execution of these small programs. We propose a novel lean architecture of a Blockchain based process execution system with Smart Contracts to dispense with a trusted third party in the context of interorganizational collaborations.