On the Computability of Agent-Based Workflows

UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
Prashant Palvia, Joe Rosenthal Excellence Professor and Director of the McDowell Research Center for Global IT Management (Creator)
Institution
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/

Abstract: Workflow research is commonly concerned with optimization, modeling, and dependency. In this research, we however address a more fundamental issue. By modeling humans and machines as agents and making use of a theoretical computer and statecharts, we prove that many workflow problems do not have computer-based solutions. We also demonstrate a sufficient condition under which computers are able to solve these problems. We end by discussing the relationships between our research and Petri Nets, the multi-agent framework in the literature, linear programming and workflow verification.

Additional Information

Publication
Decision Support Systems. Vol. 42(3), 2006, pp. 1239-1253
Language: English
Date: 2006
Keywords
Undecidability, Agents, Statecharts, Turing machines, Abacus programs, Workflows, Capabilities

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