Synchronizing Copies of External Data in Workflow Management Systems

Abstract

Workflow management systems integrate applications and data resources in business processes. Frequently they have to keep local copies of data in the so called workflow repository. We introduce and define synchronization policies for these copies with their external data sources ranging from the provision of fully synchronized replications of external data sources to unsynchronized storage of read results. We analyze in detail the effects of combining various pull and push policies and show in an example how these policies can be used in different situations.