Design and usage of a process-centric collaboration methodology for virtual organizations in hybrid environments

Abstract

This article describes a collaboration methodology for virtual organizations where the processes can be automatically executed using a hybrid web service, grid or cloud resources. Typically, the process of deriving executable workflows from process models is cumbersome and can be automated only in part or specific to a particular distributed system. The approach introduced in this paper, exemplified by the construction industry field, integrates existing technology within a process-centric framework. The solution on the basis of a hybrid system architecture in conjunction with semantic methods for consistency saving and the framework for modeling VO processes and their automated transformation and execution are discussed in detail. Copyright © 2011, IGI Global.