Abstract: A method and apparatus are disclosed for managing composite business processes that include multiple trading mechanisms, such as requests for quotes (RFQs), auctions and contracts, or repeat passes through a single trading mechanism. The independence of the individual business processes that manage each trading mechanism is maintained, while each individual business process can be connected to other business processes to form a composite business process. Each individual business process that may be followed by another business process to form a composite process must have at least one state labeled as a conversion state with a conversion transition to another business process. A conversion transition spans the gap between an end state of one business process and the start state of another subsequent business process. When a conversion state is entered by an object, a determination is made as to whether the object is being managed by a composite flow, and if so, what business process to use next.

Abstract: A method and apparatus are disclosed for managing composite business processes that include multiple trading mechanisms, such as requests for quotes (RFQs), auctions and contracts, or repeat passes through a single trading mechanism. The independence of the individual business processes that manage each trading mechanism is maintained, while each individual business process can be connected to other business processes to form a composite business process. Each individual business process that may be followed by another business process to form a composite process must have at least one state labeled as a conversion state with a conversion transition to another business process. A conversion transition spans the gap between an end state of one business process and the start state of another subsequent business process. When a conversion state is entered by an object, a determination is made as to whether the object is being managed by a composite flow, and if so, what business process to use next.

Abstract: A method and apparatus are disclosed for automatically transitioning between states in a state machine that manages a business process. A state machine is used to represent a business process. The state machine includes a plurality of states, and at least one state includes an entry action that is executed upon entering the state. The present invention provides for automatic state transitions by throwing events upon state entry whenever any conditions associated with the entry action are satisfied. The entry action includes conditional logic that causes an automatic transition to another state if the conditional logic is satisfied. The present invention provides a method to implement complex decision-making logic in one place, thereby allowing the logic to be more easily and consistently defined and maintained.

Abstract: A method and apparatus are disclosed for maintaining membership lists associated with given states of a state machine. The present invention uses a state machine to represent a business process. The state machine includes a plurality of states, and at least one state includes an entry action that is executed upon entering the state. A user group list can be accessed and processed using the entry action. When an object enters a state, the corresponding entry action may be executed. The entry action will obtain the membership group name from the corresponding state definition. If the field is not null, then the business process manager queries the membership subsystem to obtain a list of individuals who belong to that membership group name for the organization which owns the object. Only those users are notified that the object is awaiting approval and are therefore designated as the preferred approvers for this object.

Abstract: A state-based method and apparatus are disclosed for tracing and auditing a business process managed using a state machine. The disclosed system can selectively vary the tracing and auditing based, for example, upon the specific state within the business process or the identity of the organization or user associated with a given transaction. An organization can indicate whether any trace or audit information (or both) should be collected for the organization. In addition, the specific information that is collected for a given state in the state machine can be separately specified for a trace mode or audit mode. Trace and audit records can be tailored to the organization and situation at hand. The collected trace and audit information reflect the values associated with the object at well-defined points in time since they are associated with the states of the business process.