| Abstract | In an electronic workflow system, documents are handled in accordance with a so-called workflow description, which specifies how a given document is to be passed round between relevant persons in the course of some activity, such as a business process. Many software systems for business support, such as ERP systems, use workflow descriptions in order to describe the internal processes within a company.
In some types of activity, there is a requirement that the documents which are passed round should be signed by those people that deal with them, so as to ensure that there is documentation for the correct execution of the process. Traditional examples include most types of financial transaction, including ordering and purchasing. More recently, this type of requirement has turned up in connection with the documentation of the correct performance of critical manufacturing processes, such as drug manufacture. Since paper documents are rapidly being phased out in most such areas, it is necessary to consider how this type of requirement can be met when electronic documents are used. Roughly speaking, the documents have to be electronically signed in a non-refutable manner by the relevant person or persons, and be delivered in a secure manner to the next person in sequence, as specified in the workflow description.
The aim of this project is to develop a software system which supports secure document handling for a wide variety of document formats in the context of a workflow system. The project includes aspects such as requirements capture, analysis of security requirements, design or selection of a suitable system for specifying and dealing with (possibly timed) workflows, and implementation of the system. To ensure a high degree of user acceptance, it is important that the system is easy to use and easy to implement on various computer platforms.
Supervisor: Robin Sharp |