A Family of RBAC-Based Workflow Authorization Models

A family of RBAC-based workflow authorization models, called RWAM, are proposed. RWAM consists of a basic model and other models constructed from the basic model. The basic model provides the notion of temporal permission which means that a user can perform certain operation on a task only for a time interval, this not only ensure that only authorized users could execute a task but also ensure that the authorization flow is synchronized with workflow. The two advance models of RWAM deal with role hierarchy and constraints respectively. RWAM ranges from simple to complex and provides a general reference model for other researches and developments of such area.