The coupling of process‐centered environments (PCEs) with distributed object architectures like COM, CORBA and Java opens up an unprecedented range of possibilities in terms of automatic process management. The human factor is still the major component of the software process but its role is changing, as is the kind of support it needs. Focusing on the interactions between different distributed PCEs (heterogeneous federation), we present an Internet‐based framework for the definition and enactment of federated processes. A CSP‐like process definition language makes distribution problems transparent to the process designer while compiler and execution engines exploit Internet technology in order to map process specifications into the actual IT infrastructure. Different solutions are investigated for both the deployment of the enactment components and their interaction with local PCEs.