Workflow support using proclets: divide, interact and conquer

Abstract

Classical workflow notations primarily support monolithic processes. They are able to describe the lifecycle of individual cases and allow for hierarchical decomposition. Unfortunately, real-life processes are fragmented and are often composed of separate but intertwined life-cycles running at different speeds and coping with different levels of granularity. The proclets framework was one of the first formalisms to acknowledge this. Proclets are lightweight interacting processes that can be used to divide complex entangled processes into simple fragments and, in doing so, place increased emphasis on interactionrelated aspects of workflows. This paper describes the proclets approach and presents an application of this approach to the gynecological oncology workflow process at a major Dutch hospital.