Flexible data management and execution to support cooperative workflow: the COO approach

This paper introduces an evolution to classical workflow that allows more flexible execution of processes while retaining its simplicity. On the one hand it allows describing processes in the same way that they are in design and engineering manuals, on the other hand it allows to control these processes in a way that is close to the way they are actually enacted. Flexible execution is combined with the COO transaction protocol to provide an environment supporting an advanced form of coordination in a cooperative environment.