Uniform and flexible data management in workflow management systems

Various kinds of data are processed in workflow management systems: from ease data to control data, from internal data to access to external databases or documents exchanged in inter-organizational workflows. We propose a uniform treatment of all kinds of business data in workflows. This is achieved by an abstraction mechanism which enables the transparent access to data in any source in a uniform way. Moreover, we ensure simplicity by binding the human user interface layer of the workflow system with XML-based forms. The concept contributes to transparency of data location, and logical and physical independence of data, business logic and presentation in workflow systems. It facilitates the reuse of predefined activities and forms on different data sets and eases the interaction of a workflow with its environment by abstracting from the actual representation of data.