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Agent-based workflow management systems (WfMSs)

JBees: a distributed and adaptive WfMS with monitoring and controlling capabilities

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Abstract

Workflow management systems (WfMSs) based on agent technology can cope with the rapidly evolving business environment better than most other systems as they are more flexible and open. In this paper we describe a possible architecture of such a system by means of our prototype WfMS called JBees. The combination of collaborating agents and the Coloured Petri Net (CPN)-formalism in JBees enables a flexible and adaptive system with the possibility of simulation, analysis, and monitoring of the process execution in order to identify potential inconsistencies and to provide appropriate information to the workflow administrator for the purpose of the process improvement.

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Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank Mariusz Nowostawski for his help in implementing the system and improving JFern, and Prof. Martin Purvis for supporting this work. This work has been supported by the Otago Research Grant ORG-0103-0304. Lars Ehrler thanks the Evangelisches Studienwerk Villigst e.V., Schwerte, Germany, for their financial support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Information Science, University of Otago, PO Box 56, Dunedin, New Zealand

    Lars Ehrler, Martin Fleurke, Maryam Purvis & Bastin Tony Roy Savarimuthu

  2. Fakultät Informatik, Technische Universität, Dresden, Germany

    Lars Ehrler

  3. Department of Computer Science, University of Twente, Enschede, The Netherlands

    Martin Fleurke

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  1. Lars Ehrler
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  2. Martin Fleurke
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  3. Maryam Purvis
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  4. Bastin Tony Roy Savarimuthu
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Correspondence to Maryam Purvis.

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Ehrler, L., Fleurke, M., Purvis, M. et al. Agent-based workflow management systems (WfMSs). ISeB 4, 5–23 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10257-005-0010-9

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