A framework for process management in service oriented virtual organizations

Virtual Organization (VO) is a network of autonomous organizations sharing their competitive advantage to address a specific business opportunity. Due to their autonomous and interdependent nature, management of collaboration among such organizations is a challenging task. In this paper, we present a framework for process management in service oriented virtual organizations. We propose 6 layers for the framework with multiple components within each layer. In designing the components of the framework, standard reference architecture such as Open-EDI reference model and the S3 service oriented architecture, as well as best practices such as ITIL V3 and PMBOK are used. Further, we present a distributed SOA infrastructure that facilitates peer-to-peer collaboration between organizations in a virtual organization. The infrastructure is based on creating specific service zone for each participating organization to build a virtual ESB. Compared to collaborative environment in networked organization usually supported by computer networks, the loose coupling of services, and the autonomous characteristics of service oriented architecture make it one the best approaches for implementing virtual organization.