Object-oriented protocol hierarchies for distributed workflow systems

Distributed software systems such as groupware and workflow systems
will play a key role in the near future. While numerous models which
promise highly sophisticated functionality are proposed in the
literature their implementation is still a difficult and very
expensive task. Therefore existing systems fall far behind their
promises.

Entities of the workflow level are often autonomous. Consequently,
they are related to each other in more than a fixed client/server
configuration: they often perform their activities in collaboration.
Workflow models also contain a lot of information about the system's
dynamics. If one uses objects as an implementation model