Pattern-based Analysis of Windows Workflow

The Windows Workflow Foundation (WF) has been introduced<br> as part of the .NET framework as a means of creating<br> workflow-centric applications. Its intended field of application<br> is broad, ranging from fat-client applications and web<br> applications to enterprise application integration solutions.<br> Unlike other approaches, Windows Workflow supports two<br> distinct approaches to workflow specification - sequential<br> workflows and state machine workflows - which deal with<br> fundamentally different types of business scenarios. To date<br> there has been minimal investigation into its capabilities<br> and limitations, especially with respect to the two different<br> control-flow styles it offers. To remedy this, in this paper<br> we present a rigorous analysis of Windows Workflows´s<br> ability to deal with common control-flow scenarios. As a<br> framework for this evaluation we use the Workflow Patterns.<br> Our analysis outlines the strength and shortcomings of Windows<br> Workflow´s control-flow expressiveness and compares<br> it to BPEL and jBPM - two other popular approaches for<br> the design and implementation of business processes in a<br> service-oriented context.