WF-XML and Interoperability
By Tom Spitzer
Many Internet commerce efforts require several organizations to make decisions and then take action on them. The automation of this process is formally referred to as workflow, and can be managed by software running across a number of different computers. The problem with this method is that there is no easy way to communicate across various processes. Fortunately, standards committees like the Workflow Management Coalition (WfMC) have focused on developing solutions to the process integration problem. The WfMC took a major step toward creating a common idiom for workflow engines when it released Wf-XML, a language designed to standardize data transfer requirements between interoperable systems.
To understand how Wf-XML works, let's say your company needs to build a server farm for a new interactive media service. You probably need to develop internal requirements and constraints and review them with various parties who are responsible for product management, finance, and application development. Think of this process as a workflow that results in specifications for the server farm, and possibly in the creation of a request-for-proposal (RFP) that you'll send to several potential vendors.
Each vendor that receives your RFP has its own internal process for delivering a proposal, which involves at least one salesperson and one system engineer. When you receive the proposal, you have your own review process, which may include inviting the top vendors to make in-person presentations. Once you decide, you probably submit some paperwork to your purchasing coordinator together with a copy of the vendor proposal.
