Controlling business process instance flexibility via rules of planning

Abstract

The way of imposing a given level of flexibility in business processes depends on the means employed for controlling business processes. When a Business Process Support (BPS) system is used, the flexibility limits can be incorporated in it. Achieving flexibility when workflow management systems are used for support of business processes is widely discussed in the literature. The ways of achieving flexibility for other types of business process support is a much less studied topic. This paper discusses how a given level of flexibility can be imposed by a Business Process Support (BPS) system built based on the state-flow view on business processes. The flexibility is achieved by combining different kinds of rules of planning: obligations, prohibitions, recommendations and negative recommendations. The discussion is illustrated with the help of a simplified example already implemented in a BPS system called ProBis.