A timed work ̄ow process model

An internet-based work ̄ow management system (WfMS) enables business participants to work co-operatively at sites belonging to di€erent time zones. Time-related factors have to be incorporated into the traditional work ̄ow processes so as to adapt to the globally distributed applications. This paper proposes a timed work ̄ow process model through incorporating the time constraints, the duration of activities, the duration of ̄ow, and the activity distribution with respect to the multiple time axes into the conventional work ̄ow processes. The model provides an approach for temporal consistency checking during both build-time and runtime. The proposed model and approach provide a vehicle for global business process modeling, planning and monitoring. Ó 2001 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.