Method for developing application to be executed in workflow management system, and apparatus for supporting generation of application to be executed in workflow management system

摘要

A method of developing an application for execution in a workflow management system (16), the workflow management system (16) including a database (22), the application defining a workflow (WF) that involves interaction with the database (22), the workflow (WF) being representable as phases (F) of workflow and transitions (T) between the phases (F), characterized in that said method comprises: providing (250) an application development interface (300), including a transition table (TT) to be populated with data entries by at least one application developer, the data entries to define respective transitions (T) between the phases (F) of the workflow (WF), the application development interface (300) to permit the at least one application developer to select, for each data entry, one of an automatic (A) or a manual (M) action parameter; and providing, if a manual (M) action parameter is selected for a particular one of the respective transitions (T), an interface (400) for the at least one application developer to define at least one condition (405) to be satisfied to access the database (22); wherein said application development interface (300) is to automatically define metadata responsive to the selection of each action parameter (A; M) and each condition (405), and is to associate the metadata with a corresponding one of the respective transitions (T); and wherein the method further comprises configuring the application to automatically invoke commands (502) during workflow execution to effectuate the action parameters (A; M) according to the metadata, responsive to a current phase of execution of the workflow (WF).