The Use of Systemic Methodologies in Workflow Management

Workflow management using workflow management systems (WMS) not only facilitates electronic commerce, but also allows virtual enterprises to collaboratively manage business processes. The support of a WMS allows various participants to collaborate in effectively managing workflow-controlled business processes. The participants represent particular positions in a company or particular companies in a supply chain and in practice they possess different needs and levels of authority when obtaining information on business processes. To facilitate effective workflow management, a WMS should provide various participants with adequate process information. This paper focuses on improving the modeling of the virtual workflow process using Systemic Methodologies such as the Problem Structure Methodology (PSM), Strategic Assumption Surfacing & Testing (SAST), Interactive Planning (IP), and Metasystems approach. The methodologies’ target is to correctly analyze and form the model and in parallel to improve it. The systemic methodologies concentrate on the human factor that is evolving in those systems and they constitute a very valuable tool helping us to understand and define the system functions. Thus the model’s usability and agility is improved, having a reduced abstraction level and giving the business high and realizable functionality.