There are lot of software tools available for automating the the workflow.
have a look at versata. There may be some open source products also.

Cheers
Ashwani




            Jeff Jensen
            <jeffjensen@(protected)
            M>                     cc:   (bcc: ashwani.kalra/Polaris)
            Sent by: An interest list      Subject:   Workflow logic handling and "go back" handling
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            07/07/2003 11:55 PM
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Hi,

We are starting to design a new web app that has lots of workflow logic.
We
are using Struts for the controller and front flow control. We have the
option
to use most any J2EE technology.

The workflow logic is complex. The system involves many screens of
user input, and the screens presented change depending on user-entered
choices.
The decision-logic for "where to go next" not only involves the data from
the
screen just visited, but often also from prior screens.

None of us have experience with a larger and more complex decision tree
logic
like this. A couple of us have done something on a much smaller scale, and
fear that ideas in that context do not apply/scale/work well in this one.

Another wrinkle is the requirement to allow the user to go back to previous
screens and change anything. This of course affects a lot of things,
including
how to determine what data to discard with a change by the user that
affects
the decision tree/screens presented.

So, besides "put the logic in session beans/facades", we need lots of
advice on
how to solve these two main problems!

Are there any patterns/pattern languages to consider? Are there any open
source libs/products to assist? Is there a good architecture for this to
minimize having a plethora of code in session beans to determine the next
view?

My guess is many teams must have already solved these problems; I know this
is
not "new"! Can anyone shed some light on best-practice solutions please?

I would appreciate any pointers and/or redirects to help solve the problem.
Thank you!

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