Abstract: A system and associated method which are computer enabled provide automation, management and user decision support of long-running, distributed business processes whose flow is variable and partially determined by user decisions. The system dynamically schedules and assigns tasks in response to current process data and provides context-sensitive support for required user decisions. Each process instance is represented by a set of activities, a set of participants, and a set of constraint relationships between them that as a whole specify the implications of current process data, the current process state, and the current and future process options. The system is open, enabling users to extend the process instance with unstructured activities. Where tasks are assigned to other software applications and the required actions are fully determined, the system will automatically make the required requests and ensure task completion.