A study on workflow resource management based on workflow net and Agent

Abstract

At present, the resource modeling of workflow net (WF-net) are too simple to describe complex workflow. Thus, its application is not satisfying in practical use. Based on the analysis of resource management problems, unified resources management which gets the identical resource request and release process is proposed. The method of identical resource-modeling reduces complexity of WF-nct model. Based on colored Petri net, this paper proposes colored WF-net, which is easy to control and computerize. Furthermore, the design of unified resources manage is carried on using the Agent technology, and a method that transforms process definition of WF-net into abstract structure of Agent is produced. By using the appliance character of Agent technology, the method also provides feasibility for unified resources management. © 2008 by Springer Science+Business Media New York.