Market-based workflow management

This paper presents market-based workflow management, a novel approach to w orkflow specification and execution which regards tasks performed in a work flow as goods traded in an electronic market. Information about expected co st and execution time is considered for activity specifications, and is use d at runtime to execute workflows such that actual cost and execution times are balanced and optimized. To that end, task assignment follows a bidding protocol, in which each eligible processing entity specifies at which pric e and in which time interval it can execute the activity. The winner of a s pecific bidding process is requested to execute the activity, and earns the amount specified in the corresponding bid. Market-based workflow managemen t thus allows to optimize workflow executions with respect to execution tim e and overall cost; additionally the trading of activities provides an ince ntive for processing entities to engage in a workflow.