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Advancing the Concepts & Practices of Information Resources Management in Modern Organizations

The Role of Messaging in Collaborative Business Processes

The Role of Messaging in Collaborative Business Processes
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Author(s): Shazia Sadiq (The University of Queensland, Australia), Maria Orlowsak (The University of Queensland, Australia)and Wasim Sadiq (SAP Research, Australia)
Copyright: 2005
Pages: 5
Source title: Managing Modern Organizations Through Information Technology
Source Editor(s): Mehdi Khosrow-Pour, D.B.A. (Information Resources Management Association, USA)
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-59140-822-2.ch129
ISBN13: 9781616921293
EISBN13: 9781466665354

Abstract

Business process management technologies are considered as one of the key success stories in providing process control and addressing complex integration requirements. However, the expectation of what this technology must deliver is a moving target. What was true for workflow systems is no longer acceptable in the dynamic and cross organizational requirements for management of collaborative processes. Whereas the success of coordinative processes depends upon the conformance to the prescribed control flow, the success of the collaborative process depends upon the ability to detect and react to changing conditions. In this paper we highlight the differences between the well known coordinative and emerging collaborative processes and present key distinguishing characteristics. We further deliberate on the widely established role of messaging as an enabling technology for inter and intra process communication. Acknowledging the role of messaging, and the distinct requirements posed by collaborative processes, we question the appropriateness of current control flow driven approaches and propose an alternative mode of thought for addressing the modeling and execution of collaborative business processes. This paper is not intended to present a complete solution of the alternative approach, but to identify it as a viable research direction and a potentially more appropriate approach.

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