A process-oriented configurable workflow system model for cooperative project management

Automatic control on business process with workflow is the core part of a project management system. A process-oriented workflow system model which can support workflow configuration, process control, task assignment, task submitting and approval, and cooperative work is presented. The model is a hierachical architecture that consists of three layers, i.e. database layer, workflow engine layer, and user interface layer. It is based on Browser/Server architecture which can provide multi-user, distributed and access control properties. The workflow engine is based on XPDL and relational database technologies and can support cooperative work, branch selection and workflow configuration. The model is implemented on Windows .NET platform, and is applied in an international enterprise project management system. The application results demonstrate that this workflow system model can satisfy the requirement of cooperative project management.