Abstract: A system for business processes within and between organizations and/or individuals may be automated using standards-based, service-oriented business process automation architectures based on XML and Web Services Standards is described. An execution framework for the business processes is also described. Further aspects include a decomposition methodology for deconstructing business process specifications into business flows, business rules and business states. The business flows (FIG. 9, #214), rules (FIG. 9, #214) and states (FIG. 9, #214) may be defined in declarative languages and include the interaction, cooperation and coordination between the flow, rules and state engines, and the execution model for business processes within the framework.

Abstract: A system for business processes within and between organizations and/or individuals may be automated using standards-based, service-oriented business process automation architectures based on XML and Web Services Standards is described. An execution framework for the business processes is also described. Further aspects include a decomposition methodology for deconstructing business process specifications into business flows, business rules and business states. The business flows (FIG. 9, #214), rules (FIG. 9, #214) and states (FIG. 9, #214) may be defined in declarative languages and include the interaction, cooperation and coordination between the flow, rules and state engines, and the execution model for business processes within the framework.

Abstract: A method, an apparatus and a computer program product are described for automatically generating a state-based program for a component of a system consisting of a plurality of components communicating with each other, wherein the program is generated from a specification of the system, the specification comprising interaction-based sequence descriptions of the system. According to the present invention, all sequence descriptions of said component are determined, the sequence descriptions are normalized, a state-based specification of said component is determined from the normalized sequence descriptions, and the state-based program for the component is determined from the state-based specification. The present invention facilitates the process of program development since the costly, manual development of a state-based program from the specification of a system is automated at least to a substantial degree.