Managing change and time in dynamic workflow processes

Business environments have become exceedingly dynamic and competitive in recent times. This dynamism is manifested in the form of changing process requirements and time constraints. Workflow technology is currently one of the most promising fields of research in business process automation. However, workflow systems to date do not provide the flexibility necessary to support the dynamic nature of business processes. In this paper we primarily discuss the issues and challenges related to managing change and time in workflows representing dynamic business processes. We also present an analysis of workflow modifications and provide feasibility considerations for the automation of this process.

Relationships between quality of experience and participation in diverse performance settingshttp://espace.library.uq.edu.au/workflow/edit_metadata.php?id=382160&wfs_id=778

The flow concept describes a model of enjoyment that has relevance for understanding participation and experience across a wide range of activities (Csikszentmihalyi, 1997). The basic premise of the flow concept is that when challenges and skills are simultaneously balanced and extending the individual, a state of total absorption can occur. Research by Jackson and colleagues has examined the utility of the flow concept to understanding participation and performance in sport settings. Recently, Jackson and Eklund have examined flow in a range of performance settings: sport, exercise, dance, creative and performing arts, and music. In this paper, we present descriptive and construct validity data on how participants in these activities experienced flow, as assessed by the recently revised flow scales: The Dispositional Flow Scale-2 (DFS-2) and Flow State Scale-2 (FSS-2) (Jackson & Eklund, 2002). The fmdings will be discussed in relation to the utility of the flow concept to understanding participation across performance settings.

Data flow and validation in workflow modelling

A complete workflow specification requires careful integration of many different process characteristics. Decisions must be made as to the definitions of individual activities, their scope, the order of execution that maintains the overall business process logic, the rules governing the discipline of work list scheduling to performers, identification of time constraints and more. The goal of this paper is to address an important issue in workflows modelling and specification, which is data flow, its modelling, specification and validation. Researchers have neglected this dimension of process analysis for some time, mainly focussing on structural considerations with limited verification checks. In this paper, we identify and justify the importance of data modelling in overall workflows specification and verification. We illustrate and define several potential data flow problems that, if not detected prior to workflow deployment may prevent the process from correct execution, execute process on inconsistent data or even lead to process suspension. A discussion on essential requirements of the workflow data model in order to support data validation is also given..

Creating an authentic aural experience in the digital songlines game engine: Part of a contextualised cultural heritage knowledge toolkit

Digital Songlines is an Australasian CRC for Interaction Design (ACID) project that is developing protocols, methodologies and toolkits to facilitate the collection, education and sharing of indigenous cultural heritage knowledge. The project explores the areas of effective recording, content management and virtual reality delivery capabilities that are culturally sensitive and involve the indigenous custodians, leaders and communities in remote areas of the Australian ‘outback’. It investigates how players in a serious gaming sense can experience Indigenous virtual heritage in a high fidelity fashion with culturally appropriate interface tools. This paper describes a 3D ambient audio quilt designed and implemented specifically for the Digital Songlines software, which is built using the Torque Game Engine. The audio quilt developed provides dynamic ambient fauna and flora sound effects to represent the varying audio environment of the landscape. This provides an authentic contextualised interesting aural experience that can be different each time a location is entered. This paper reports on completed and ongoing research in this area.

Database and narratological representation of Australian Aboriginal knowledge as information visualisation using a game engine

Current database technologies do not support contextualised representations of multi-dimensional narratives. This paper outlines a new approach to this problem using a multi-dimensional database served in a 3D game environment. Preliminary results indicate it is a particularly efficient method for the types of contextualised narratives used by Australian Aboriginal peoples to tell their stories about their traditional landscapes and knowledge practices. We discuss the development of a tool that complements rather than supplants direct experience of these traditional knowledge practices.

Performing traditional knowledge using a game engine: Communicating and sharing Australian Aboriginal knowledge practices

This paper challenges current practices in the use of digital media to communicate Australian Aboriginal knowledge practices in a learning context. It proposes that any digital representation of Aboriginal knowledge practices needs to examine the epistemology and ontology of these practices in order to design digital environments that effectively support and enable existing Aboriginal knowledge practices in the real world. Central to this is the essential task of any new digital representation of Aboriginal knowledge to resolve the conflict between database and narrative views of knowledge (L. Manovich, 2001). This is in order to provide a tool that complements rather than supplants direct experience of traditional knowledge practices (V. Hart, 2001). This paper concludes by reporting on the recent development of an advanced learning technology that addresses this.

Pockets of flexibility in workflow specification

Workflow technology is currently being deployed in quite diverse domains. However, the element of change is present in some degree and form in almost all domains. A workflow implementation that does not support the process of change will not benefit the organization in the long run. Change can be manifested in different forms in workflow processes. In this paper, we first present a categorization of workflow change characteristics and divide workflow processes into dynamic, adaptive and flexible processes. We define flexibility as the ability of the workflow process to execute on the basis of a loosely, or partially specified model, where the full specification of the model is made at runtime, and may be unique to each instance. To provide a modeling framework that offers true flexibility, we need to consider the factors, which influence the paths of (unique) instances together with the process definition. We advocate an approach that aims at making the process of change part of the workflow process itself. We introduce the notion of an open instance that consists of a core process and several pockets of flexibility, and present a framework based on this notion, which makes use of special build activities that provide the functionality to integrate the process of defining a change, into the open workflow instance.