Orchestrating Document-based Workflows with X-Folders

This paper introduces X-Folders: a software environment for multi-party document-based processes that aims at supporting the implementation of workflow processes involving multiple users that interact by means of documents stored in special, reactive, folders. When the documents inside a folder reach a given state a task is triggered, tasks orchestrate a set of web services in order to enact the workflow. X-Folders is based on a model that promotes the implementation of applications distributed among peer sites and is based on internet standards: the document folders are accessible via WebDAV and via SOAP, external components can be invoked as web services; this enhances the interoperability of the workflow processes with external components and makes it possible to interact with the system even without specific clients.