Cross-Organizational Processes Coordination
Abstract
Three essential models have to be managed to form a virtual enterprise: business, resources, and process models. We focus particularly on resolving the third model's problems. Virtual enterprise processes are composed of activities distributed over different organizations. Some activities have to be done by several participants in different organizations and need mechanisms to support these interactions, while maintaining the privacy of information. This paper presents the synchronization point concept, which provides support for distributed participants' interconnection and coordination. Its data repository and action manager helps human interactions and decision making in cross-organizational applications. It also allows dynamic process definition as requested for cooperative process management.