BPEL4People - extending WS-BPEL for people

Abstract

BPEL, an XML based language, formally describes business processes and business interaction protocols. While WS-BPEL processes support automated process integration, there is a need to support human tasks, which naturally comes with new requirements. BPEL4People is a joint project of IBM and SAP that describes scenarios where users are involved in business processes, and defines appropriate extensions to WS-BPEL, exclusively using web service interfaces for maximum interoperability. Integration of human tasks into BPEL processes is achieved by defining a people activity, that encapsulates a human task, as a concrete implementation of a BPEL activity.<br />This thesis proposes a concrete specification of BPEL4People that defines syntax and semantics that complies with the WS-BPEL specification. Finally, a generic BPEL4People system is realised that can to be coupled with a BPEL engine in order to integrate human tasks into business processes.