Addressing dynamism in e-negotiations by workflow management systems

Workflows (Wfs) are a major enabling technology for e-commerce. In our research, a Combined Negotiation (CN) is modeled and enacted using Wf technology. The modeling task captures the sequencing of the individual negotiations as well as the dependencies between them, and the enacting task runs the model. A CN support system (CONSENSUS) is used by the user to perform both tasks. Supporting dynamic modifications to the model during runtime should increase the benefits of our approach. We highlight the need for such support by identifying the dynamic aspects that can occur while negotiating the different items of a package (i.e., the CN object). To address these aspects, we experimented using ADEPT, a Wf management system supporting dynamism. This leads us to discuss the Wf reference model of the Wf management coalition, and suggest a "dynamic" extension to the current functional areas and architecture.