Dynamic change within workflow systems

Abstract

Dynamic change is a large and pervasive unsolved problem which surfaces within office systems as well as within software engineering, manufacturing, and numerous other domains. Procedural changes, performed in an ad hoc manner, can cause inefficiencies, inconsistencies, and catastrophic breakdowns within offices. This paper is concerned with dynamic change to procedures in the context of workflow systems. How can we make workflow systems more flexible and open? We believe that part of the answer lies in the study and solution of the dynamic change problem. In this paper, we use a Petri net formalism to analyze structural change within office procedures. As an example, we define a class of change called “synthetic cut-over change”, and apply our formalism to prove that this class maintains correctness when downsizing occurs.