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工作流管理联盟规范
工作流管理联盟
工作流参考模型
文档编号 TC00 - 1003
版次 1.1
发布日期 1995/01/19
作者 David Hollingsworth
d.c.hollingsworth@x400.icl.co.uk
译者 YahongLiu
Yahongq111@163.com
翻译日期 2006/12/12 开始
目录
1.介绍
1.1 背景
1.2 目的
1.3 范围
1.4 读者
1.5 如何阅读本文
1.6 交叉引用
1.7 修订历史
2.工作流系统概述
2.1 什么是工作流
2.2 工作流的演进历史
2.3 产品执行模型
2.4 两种不同的的情况
2.5 为何需要标准化
3.工作流参考模型
3.1 概述
3.2 工作流模型
3.3 工作流制定服务
3.4 过程定义
3.5 工作流客户端功能
3.6 调用的应用功能
3.7 工作流的系统工作
3.8 系统管理
4.WAPI的结构，协议和一致性
4.1 WAPI功能概述
4.2 WAPI支持的协议
4.3 一致性原则
4.4 协同工作的类别和一致性的级别
附录
术语表和缩写
1.介绍
1.1 背景
工作流管理是日益广泛用于各种工业业务的发展最快的一种技术。他的主要特征是流程的自动化，包括组合人和基于机器的各种活动，尤其是各类IT应用和工具之间的交互。尽管他最流行的用途是用于办公室中处理职员们的大量事务性工作，例如保险，银行，法律和一般管理等，然而，他也适用于某些工业和制造业的应用。
今天已经有了许多工作流软件，并且不断的有新的产品进入市场。这些产品非常多，应用范围也非常的广乏，各个产品供应商都集中精力于其产品的某些特定功能，用户也采用这些单独的产品来处理特定的应用需求。可是，到至今为止，还没有标准让不同的WFM产品一起工作，这就造成了流程自动化的不兼容“孤岛”（译者注：指不同的流程之间相互脱节，不能协同工作）。
WFM联盟就是一个由许多企业组成在一起，共同处理上述情况的一个分组。已经认识到，所有的工作流管理产品都有某些共同的特征，可以让他们通过使用为不同的功能而制定的共同标准来使这些产品达到某种水平的相互协作。建立WFM联盟的目的就是确定这些功能的范围，并制定在工作流产品中实现这些功能的适当的规范。希望这些规范能够让不同种类的工作流产品协同工作，并提高工作流应用同其他IT服务例如电子邮件，电子文档管理等的整合度，从而增加在IT市场有效使用这些工作流技术的的机会，这对这些技术的供应商和用户都是有好处的。
1.2 目的
本文的目的是提供一个框架来支持在前面提到的不同规范的制定。它为工作流管理系统提供一个公共的“引用模型”来确定它们的特性、术语和组成，让不同的规可以统一在整个工作流系统模型的环境中。各个详细的规范将会作为单独的文档来发布。
1.3 范围
本文覆盖了工作流管理系统的概念、术语、一般结构、主要功能组成部分、各流程之间的接口和交换信息；为标准化确定了适当的范围，并阐述了可能通过使用标准来支持的潜在的协同工作的情况；也论述了工作流管理系统现有标准适用于哪些地方，以及他们在哪些地方和其他IT服务进行整合。本文不包括业务流程工程的广阔方面，这不在使用信息技术支持业务流程的范围之内。
1.4 读者
本文的预期读者是工作流联盟的成员以及其他对联盟有兴趣并希望了解由联盟的工作做支持的最顶层技术结构的其他人员。本文适合于有一定的技术，但并不一定有工作流系统方面的非常广泛的前期知识的读者。
1.5 如何阅读本文
第2章提供了工作流系统技术的概念的一般介绍、工作流系统的发展过程、可能组合了这种技术的几种系统的业务联系和背景。如果你对工作流技术比较陌生的话，应该从这里开始，如果对工作流管理系统熟悉的话，可以从第3章开始。
第3章讨论了工作流管理系统的内部结构、主要功能组成部分和他们之间的交互特性。本章介绍了最高层次的结构，确定了不同类型的接口，它们用来支持不同的系统组成部分之间的协同工作和与其它IT基础组成部分之间的整合。
第4章提供了对工作流应用程序接口(WAPI)的总的看法，说明了支持开放互连的协议，论述了各规范一致性的原则；并确定了这些规范的一些特性，他们用于支持各种类型的协同工作。WAPI规格的详将在单独的规格文档中发布（参见下面的交叉引用）。
1.6 交叉引用
WFMC SC00 - 1002 WFM Coalition Proposal Information
WFMC SC00 - 1006 WFM Coalition Technical Committee Operations
WFMC TC00 - 1008 Interoperability White Paper
WFMC TC00 - 1009 Client application API descriptions
WFMC TC00 - 1010 Workflow Definition Read/Write Descriptions
WFMC TC00 - 1011 Terminology and Glossary
WFMC TC00 - 1013 Workflow APIs - Naming Conventions
1.7 修订历史
(略）
英文原文
The Workflow Management Coalition Specification
Workflow Management Coalition
The Workflow Reference Model
Document Number TC00-1003
Document Status - Issue 1.1
19-Jan-95
Author:
David Hollingsworth
Send comments to d.c.hollingsworth@x400.icl.co.uk
Workflow Management Coalition 2 Crown Walk Winchester Hampshire, UK SO22 5XE Tel: (+44) 1962 873401 Fax: (+44) 1962 868111
Copyright ª 1993, 1994, 1995 The Workflow Management Coalition
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photographic, recording or otherwise without the prior written permission of the Workflow Management Coalition, except that reproduction, storage or transmission for non-commercial purposes may be undertaken without such permission if all copies of the publication (or portions thereof) produced thereby contain a notice that the Workflow Management Coalition and its members are the owners of the copyright therein.
Email: WfMC@wfmc.org Web: http://www.wfmc.org
Table of Contents
1. Introduction................................................................................................ 3
1.1. Background................................................................................. 3
1.2. Purpose....................................................................................... 3
1.3. Scope.......................................................................................... 3
1.4. Audience..................................................................................... 4
1.5. How to read this document .......................................................... 4
1.6. Cross References......................................................................... 4
1.7. Revision History ......................................................................... 4
2. Workflow Systems Overview ...................................................................... 6
2.1. What is Workflow?..................................................................... 6
2.2. The Evolution of Workflow ........................................................10
2.3. Product Implementation Model ...................................................12
2.4. Alternative Implementation Scenarios .........................................15
2.5. The Need for Standardisation .....................................................18
3. Workflow Reference Model .......................................................................20
3.1. Overview ...................................................................................20
3.2. The Workflow Model .................................................................20
3.3. Workflow Enactment Services ....................................................21
3.4. Process Definition ......................................................................28
3.5. Workflow Client Functions.........................................................31
3.6. Invoked Application Functions ...................................................35
3.7. Workflow Interoperability ..........................................................37
3.8. Systems Administration..............................................................44
4. WAPI Structure, Protocols & Conformance ...............................................46
4.1. WAPI - Functional Overview of APIs.........................................46
4.2. WAPI Protocol Support .............................................................47
4.3. Conformance Principles..............................................................48
4.4. Interoperability Classifications & Conformance Levels ...............48
Appendix - Glossary of Terms and Abbreviations ...........................................51
TC00-1003 Issue 1.1 Workflow Reference Model Printed 19/11/98
1. Introduction
1.1. Background
Work Flow Management is a fast evolving technology which is increasingly being exploited by businesses in a variety of industries. Its primary characteristic is the automation of processes involving combinations of human and machine-based activities, particularly those involving interaction with IT applications and tools. Although its most prevalent use is within the office environment in staff intensive operations such as insurance, banking, legal and general administration, etc, it is also applicable to some classes of industrial and manufacturing applications .
Many software vendors have WFM products available today which involve WFM technology and there is a continual introduction of more products into the market. The availability of a wide range of products within the market has allowed individual product vendors to focus on particular functional capabilities and users have adopted particular products to meet specific application needs. However, there are, as yet, no standards defined to enable different WFM products to work together, which is resulting in incompatible "islands" of process automation.
The WFM Coalition is a grouping of companies who have joined together to address the above situation. It has been recognised that all work flow management products have some common characteristics, enabling them potentially to achieve a level of interoperability through the use of common standards for various functions. The WFM Coalition has been established to identify these functional areas and develop appropriate specifications for implementation in workflow products. It is intended that such specifications will enable interoperability between heterogeneous workflow products and improved integration of workflow applications with other IT services such as electronic mail and document management, thereby improving the opportunities for the effective use of workflow technology within the IT market, to the benefit of both vendors and users of such technology.
1.2. Purpose
The purpose of this document is to provide a framework to support the development of the various specifications described above. It provides a common "Reference Model" for workflow management systems identifying their characteristics, terminology and components, enabling the individual specifications to be developed within the context of an overall model for workflow systems. The detailed specifications will be developed as separate documents.
1.3. Scope
This document covers the concepts, terminology, general structure of a workflow management system, its major functional components and the interfaces and information interchange flows between them. It identifies the areas appropriate for standardisation and illustrates the potential interoperability scenarios which may be supported through the use of common standards. It also discusses, where appropriate, the applicability of existing standards to workflow management systems and their integration with other standard IT services. It does not cover wider aspects of business process engineering which lie outside the use of information technology to support the business process.
Copyright 1993, 1994, 1995 Workflow Management Coalition Page 3 of 3
TC00-1003 Issue 1.1 Workflow Reference Model Printed 19/11/98
1.4. Audience
The intended audience of this document is the work flow coalition membership as well as others that are interested in the efforts of the coalition and wish to understand the top level technical architecture which underpins the work of the Coalition. The document is intended for a moderately technical audience but extensive prior knowledge of workflow systems is not assumed.
1.5. How to read this document
Chapter 2 provides a general introduction to the concepts of workflow systems technology, its evolution, the business context and background on the types of systems which may incorporate this type of technology. If you are unfamiliar with workflow technology you should start here; if you are already familiar with workflow management systems, consider starting at Chapter 3.
Chapter 3 discuses the internal structure of workflow systems, the major functional components and the nature of their interactions. It introduces the top level architecture and identifies the various interfaces which may be used to support interoperability between different system components and integration with other major IT infrastructure components.
Chapter 4 provides a general overview of the workflow application programme interface (WAPI), comments on the necessary protocol support for open interworking and discusses the principles of conformance to the specifications. It identifies those aspects of the specifications which are required to support various classes of interoperability. The detailed WAPI specifications are published as separate specification documents (see cross references below).
1.6. Cross References
WFMC SC00 - 1002 WFM Coalition Proposal Information WFMC SC00 - 1006 WFM Coalition Technical Committee Operations WFMC TC00 - 1008 Interoperability White Paper WFMC TC00 - 1009 Client application API descriptions WFMC TC00 - 1010 Workflow Definition Read/Write Descriptions WFMC TC00 - 1011 Terminology and Glossary WFMC TC00 - 1013 Workflow APIs - Naming Conventions
1.7. Revision History
This issue (1.1) is the second major version, incorporating the following changes from the previous version (0.6):
. Incorporation of updated terminology and glossary
. Incorporation of monitoring and metrics interface within the reference model
. Updated material on workflow interoperability (derived from the Coalition work on the Workflow Interoperability White Paper) and its associated interface operations, clarifying the various interoperability scenarios and proposed areas for open interoperability
TC00-1003 Issue 1.1 Workflow Reference Model Printed 19/11/98
. Incorporation of comments on the (optional) use of organisational roles within the basic model
. Incorporation of comments clarifying the use of workflow relevant data within the basic model
. Incorporation of minor changes to align with the output of other Coalition Working Groups, particularly the initial API specifications
. Improvements in clarification and consistency in various areas throughout the text, including amended document structure
Version 1.1 incorporates minor editorial changes as a result of the TC meeting in Vienna (10th Nov 94), plus revisions to improve consistency with other Coalition documentation.
TC00-1003 Issue 1.1 Workflow Reference Model Printed 19/11/98
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