Computer Supported Cooperative Work and Petri Nets

Abstract

Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW) has brought to the attention of computer professionals the role computer applications may play supporting collaboration, coordination and communication among people cooperating in a common task. In particular, people acting in accordance with a structured workflow, as a procedure or as a project plan, can be supported by a class of systems called workflow management systems, not only to play their role in it, but also to increase their awareness of the situation in which they are acting so that they can make better decisions when needed and overcome breakdowns finding new (exceptional) paths. Workflow management systems, in fact, facilitate the description, modeling, analysis, enactment, and coordination of (the) structured (component of) work processes. These systems assist and mediate communication, interaction, understanding, and synchronization among collaborating people and processes within organizations.