Process change identification using workflow specification matching

Adaptive workflow systems and dynamic-change handling methodologies have been a focus of current workflow development. The goal of such systems is to develop a framework that allows changes to be carried out dynamically. However, a systematic change management approach that ensures changes are properly evaluated, implemented and reviewed has yet to be developed. A dynamic workflow system can be achieved by implementing change management strategies in current workflow systems that cater for change. This paper presents a matching algorithm to identify changes made to a workflow process over time by comparing different versions of the process, and to present the changes in a way that is meaningful to the users. The matching result is useful for change notification and for reviewing how a process has changed over time, for change management purposes. The algorithm is based on tree matching at the overall level and graph matching at the lower level. The matching algorithm is applied to an example construction process and results are presented in this paper.