Dynamic Integration in Collaborative Process and Challenges

Several efforts have been made to support the dynamic transition between process types, in order to accommodate different coordination requirements. In the most basic form workflow functionality has been added to groupware platforms, like Lotus Notes, to achieve ad-hoc routing. Unstructured task support has also been added to workflow systems, utilising cooperative groupware activities (Siebert et al., 1999). For instance, the Syspro Workflow solution and CSE/Workflow system integrate predefined workflow with ad-hoc workflow, by enforcing the predefined parts in the process definition, and by enlisting the administrator or end user at run-time, whenever a non-predefined series of steps is instigated. Concerning groupware process level integration, systems such as Lotus Notes or Exchange from Microsoft, which support replication and asynchronous editing of shared documents, and provide some basic (script-based) workflow functionality, are significant. Demonstrating a more advanced form of the value of automated processes in virtual communities, is the automated supply chain process scenario from Dell for just in time production. This indicates business process interoperability, where it is possible to enact business procedures and transactions, automatically initiating other organisations to implement those parts of the process which lie within their domain of responsibility. The complete supply chain business logic is expressed in a manner which can be flawlessly automated across diverse business entities.

Although approaches exist that appear to support flexible and adaptive processes, levels of integration are limited, in that there is no single approach that provides exclusive, extensive support for multiple, diverse process types. Usually, the tools focus on a single process with insufficient support for the others. Furthermore, the integration of coordination support for gradually evolving process structures, from un-structured to structured collaborating groups remains a challenge.

WFMS often assumes the homogeneity of products and additionally focuses on coordination of individual users, rather than providing cooperation support for groups of users defining and executing collaborative business processes. WFMS, similar to Oz, is a multisite collaborative WFMS which supports interoperability among heterogeneous and autonomous processes, is limited in its support for only structured processes. Since its means of integration is point–to-point it is subject to the weaknesses of a mesh topology. Additionally, synchronisation between parallel execution and support for dynamic shared-state data between processes is challenged. This stresses the need for process awareness, and although most Workflow systems integrate with process

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definition and modelling tools in order that a proposed system can be fully specified and simulated prior to introduction, the need for automatic process definition inference is required.

Despite workflow technology being considered a leading integration technology, it is often tightly coupled and limited chiefly to applications and tasks, rather than being applicable between heterogeneous processes (WFMC, 2001). Solutions which combine tools include: Lotus Notes; BSCW; SourceForge; and toxic farm. However, none provides an all-inclusive collaboration solution. In addition, they are proprietary, with deployment and maintenance difficulties, often requiring solid programming skills. For example, SAP workflow integration with Lotus Notes or Outlook requires an Advanced Business Application Programming expert. The need to develop solutions that are integrated, scalable, easy to deploy, and general enough to address a large range of applications, beyond temporal and spatial limitations, has been emphasised (Skaf-Molli et al., 2007; Alfaro et al., 2009). In order to cope with the dynamic collaboration needs of distributed teams, as well as to adapt to different, but necessary processes, this necessitates flexibility in supporting systems (Camarinha-Matos, 2003). A loosely coupled integration approach is emphasised to achieve coordination in a heterogeneous distributed environment. There is, additionally, the crucial need to identify and reveal hidden collaboration opportunities, to achieve seamless, loosely coupled integration.

While efforts have been made to support geographically distributed teams, the level of support provided is insufficient. This is evidenced in web-based platforms that aim to provide some or most of the functionality of existing standalone collaboration tools within a single integrated collaborative environment. For instance, Toxic farm supports both object- and activity-level coordination for formal projects and known collaborators. The activity-level support is mainly based on a ‗to do list‘. Ecommerce communities, such as EBay and Amazon, offer streamlined workflow processes between partner organisations, where the functionality of key tasks is integrated, synchronised and synthesised. Although there is no support process modelling, they reflect semi- structured online interactive transaction processing.

Lukicic, Sruk, and Budin (2006) advocate the use of portal technology, to enable the integration and interoperability of function or application in virtual communities. The European one-stop portal provides for this, as it offers service integration of distributed government services for citizens, termed life-event portals. These life-event portals are basically understood as portals that provide public services, organised and integrated according to ‗real-life‘ situations, such as ‗getting married‘ or ‗establishing a business‘, at which stage citizens or businesses require relevant public services in order to comply with legislation (Momotko, 2007). The use of ontology-drive integration at a process and

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semantic level to achieve a common and shared understanding of a domain(s) is also emphasised (Obrst, 2003).

As part of the egovernment initiative, for instance, a one-stop portal; a European project SemanticGov, provides integrated public services to citizens using semantic web technologies. Life events are composed automatically on the basis of public service descriptions, supplied in Web service modelling language (WSML) and concepts from the web service modelling ontology. They integrate and share information across traditional government boundaries, which involve complex interactions among a variety of participants, all utilising complicated technical and organisational processes. Virtual communities can access and effect the personalised user integration of tools. For instance, Facebook, a social networking service, allows ad-hoc integration of tools to support specific user needs. Essentially it should be simple and easy for users to design their own orchestration of services, as well as to configure their own service front-end web access to services, by means of self-servicing. A balanced integration of tools can result in flexibility and dynamic views of relationships (artefacts and people), as well as process awareness.