Supporting Large-Scale End User Specification of Workflows, Work Coordination and Tool Integration

Workflow Management Systems are a common example of end user development, in that they support end user specification of work process models, end user enactment (running) of these models, and end user evolution of workflows. Example applications of Workflow Management Systems include office automation, software process modelling and business process codification. We describe a novel workflow management system which provides visual support for end users to specify both simple and complex aspects of workflows, including workflow models, communication and collaboration techniques, and the tools used to perform work. We illustrate both the utility of these work coordination mechanisms and the degree of scalability they provide for both novice and experienced end users. We also outline the architecture of our system, our experiences with this workflow tool, and our future research directions.Request access from your librarian to read this article's full text.