Patterns for flexible BPMN workflows

Abstract

The agility in today's business processes leads to a need for flexible workflow management. It must be possible to deal with exceptions occurring during workflow execution or changes in the workflow context. To enable this, workflow flexibility has to be taken into account during design time as well as during runtime. This paper presents an approach based on a combination of BPMN workflow models, rules, events, and so called workflow adaptation patterns. Workflow adaptation patterns describe the adaptations available for a specific situation.