Workflow management with systems approach: anticipated and ad-hoc workflow for scientific applications

Area of Science:

• Scientific computing
• Bioinformatics
• Geospatial analysis

Background:

• Traditional workflow management systems primarily serve business applications.
• Scientific applications, such as geoprocessing and molecular biology, have unique workflow requirements.
• Existing systems often lack the flexibility needed for dynamic scientific workflows.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce the Workflow Management with Systems Approach (WOMASA) tailored for scientific applications.
• To address the need for flexible and platform-independent workflow specification and execution.
• To highlight the differences between scientific and traditional workflow modeling and execution.

Main Methods:

• Conceptual design and prototyping of the WOMASA system.
• Development of a core workflow engine within WOMASA.
• Focus on enabling dynamic modifications of workflow models during execution.

Main Results:

• WOMASA provides flexible workflow support for scientific domains.
• The system demonstrates platform independence in workflow specification and execution.
• The WOMASA prototype successfully accommodates dynamic changes in running workflows.

Conclusions:

• WOMASA meets the critical requirements for flexibility in scientific workflow management.
• The system's design is well-suited for dynamic and evolving scientific research environments.
• WOMASA enhances the efficiency and adaptability of scientific workflows.