CrossFlow-cross-organizational workflow support for virtual organizations

Abstract

CrossFlow is a European research project of the 4th ESPRTT Framework, aiming at cross-organizational workflow support for virtual enterprises. Virtual enterprises in the CrossFlow context are based on a service provider-consumer paradigm in which organizations (service consumers) can delegate tasks in their workflows to other organizations (service providers). The prime contractor in CrossFlow is IBM. Technology providers in the consortium are GMD-IPSI in Darmstadt, Germany, and the University of Twente in the Netherlands, who contribute their experience in groupware and workflow management. User partners are KPN Research in Groningen, the Netherlands, and AGFIL in Dublin, Ireland. Sema Group in Madrid, Spain, acts as industrial observer in the consortium. The CrossFlow project started in September 1998 and is planned to run for two years. The project covers the complete spectrum from requirements analysis to prototype assessment. In this paper, we briefly outline the goals of the project.