Event-based workflow and the management interface

Long transactions cause pragmatic problems for workflow systems - as the transaction is moving, so is the surrounding world. We look at three scenarios in which external events affect the performance and public perception of a system. Then we discuss management user interfaces. First, we consider an intervention interface. Second, we argue that a context monitor, manned by humans rather than machines, can provide a way for the overall system to be more responsive to what is happening in the surrounding world, by making use of our cognitive capacity to grasp and react to unforeseen events. Third, we propose a planning interface, which can be use to design how managers will respond to certain foreseeable situations. The relationship of these interfaces to the overall problem of enterprise integration is described, and some generalizations are made about how we interact with software.