Evaluation of Workflow Management Systems - A Meta Model Approach

The automated enactment of processes through the use of workflow management systems enables the outsouring of the control flow from application systems. By now a large number of systems, that follow different workflow paradigms, are available. This leads to the problem of selecting the appropriate workflow management system for a given situation. In this paper we outline the benefits of a meta model approach for the evaluation and comparison of different workflow management systems. After a general introduction on the topic of meta modeling the meta models of the workflow management systems WorkParty (Siemens Nixdorf) and FlowMark (IBM) are compared as an example. These product-specific meta models can be generalized to meta reference models, which helps to specify a workflow methodology. Exemplary, an organizational reference meta model is presented, which helps users in specifying their requirements for a workflow management system