Method and system for processing a workflow using a publish-subscribe protocol

1 . A method for processing a workflow, the method comprising:

using a publish-subscribe protocol to receive from a server information related to a task in a workflow process, wherein the workflow process comprises a plurality of tasks to produce a final outcome;

determining a next task in the workflow process based on the information; and

using the publish-subscribe protocol to send via the server information related to the next task to at least one task device capable of processing the next task.

2 . The method of claim 1 wherein the information related to the task includes a result for the task, and wherein determining the next task comprises:

using the information related to the task to identify the workflow process;

retrieving and analyzing the workflow process to identify at least one possible next task; and

selecting the next task from the at least one possible next tasks based on the result for the task.

3 . The method of claim 1 wherein the information related to the next task includes a request to complete the next task.

4 . The method of claim 1 wherein the server is a presence server and the method further includes:

receiving from the presence server presence information associated with a task device capable of processing the next task; and

selecting the task device capable of processing the next task based on the associated presence information.

5 . The method of claim 1 wherein the server is a publish-subscribe server.

6 . The method of claim 1 comprising repeating the receiving, determining, and sending process until each task of the workflow is completed.

7 . The method of claim 1 further comprising:

receiving a request from a requesting user to initiate the workflow process;

determining a first task in the workflow process;

selecting at least one task device capable of processing the first task; and

using the publish-subscribe protocol to send via the publish-subscribe server a request to the at least one task device capable of processing the first task.

8 . The method of claim 7 further comprising:

using the publish-subscribe protocol to send via the publish-subscribe server the final outcome to the requesting user when the workflow process is completed.

9 . The method of claim 1 wherein the information related to the task includes data needed to perform the task and the method further includes:

processing the task using the data to produce a result; and

providing at least one rule corresponding to the task, the at least one rule indicating the next task based on the result.

10 . The method of claim 9 wherein providing the at least one rule includes receiving via the publish-subscribe server at least one message including the at least one rule.

11 . The method of claim 9 wherein providing the at least one rule includes hard coding the at least one rule.

12 . The method of claim 9 wherein determining the next task in the workflow process includes applying the at least one rule to the result.

13 . The method of claim 9 wherein the information related to the next task includes the result.

14 . A method for processing a workflow comprising:

using a publish-subscribe protocol to receive from a server information related to a task in a workflow process including a plurality of tasks;

determining whether to perform the task based on the information;

producing a result if the task is performed; and

using the publish-subscribe protocol to publish the result via the server.

15 . The method of claim 14 wherein the publish-subscribe protocol is a presence protocol and the method comprising:

subscribing to presence information related to a previous task in the workflow process.

16 . The method of claim 15 wherein determining whether to perform the task includes using a watcher to monitor the presence information related to a previous task, and if the presence information includes certain matching data, performing the task.

17 . A system for processing a workflow that comprises a plurality of tasks for producing a final outcome, the system comprising:

a server configured to receive, store, and distribute information using a publish-subscribe protocol; and

a plurality of task devices, wherein at least one task device is configured to perform a task in the workflow and is configured to exchange information with the server using the publish-subscribe protocol.

18 . The system of claim 17 wherein the server is a publish-subscribe server.

19 . The system of claim 17 further comprising:

a storage device for storing the workflow; and

a workflow manager configured to exchange information with the server using the publish-subscribe protocol and to manage the workflow by allocating task requests to appropriate task devices.

20 . The system of claim 19 wherein the workflow manager is configured to receive from the server information related to a task in the workflow, to use the information to retrieve the workflow from the storage device, to determine a next task in the workflow based on the information and to send via the server information related to the next task to at least one of the task devices capable of performing the next task.

21 . The system of claim 20 wherein the information related to the next task includes a request to complete the next task.

22 . The system of claim 21 wherein the server is a presence server configured to receive, store, and distribute information using a presence protocol, the task device further including:

a task watcher component configured to receive via the presence server the request related to the task; and

a task presentity component configured to send the result to the presence server; and

wherein the workflow manager includes:

a workflow watcher component configured to receive from the presence server the information related to the task; and

a workflow presentity component configured to send the request to the presence server.

23 . The system of claim 22 wherein the workflow watcher receives from the presence server presence information associated with a plurality of task devices capable of processing the next task and the workflow manager is configured to select the at least one task device for the next task based on the associated presence information.

24 . The system of claim 17 wherein the task device is configured to receive from the server data needed to perform the task, to use the data to produce a result, to apply at least one rule to the task to determine a next task in the workflow, and to send via the server the result to at least one other task device capable of performing the next task.

25 . The system of claim 17 wherein the task device is configured to receive from the server information related to the task, to determine whether to perform the task based on the information, to produce a result if the task is performed, and to publish the result via the server.

26 . A computer readable medium containing a computer program for processing a workflow over a distributed network, the computer program comprising executable instructions for:

using a publish-subscribe protocol to receive from a server information related to a task in a workflow process, wherein the workflow process comprises a plurality of tasks to produce a final outcome;

determining a next task in the workflow process based on the information; and

using the publish-subscribe protocol to send via the server information related to the next task to at least one task device capable of processing the next task.

27 . The computer readable medium of claim 26 wherein the server is a presence server and the computer program further includes executable instructions for:

receiving from the presence server presence information associated with a task device capable of processing the next task; and

selecting the task device capable of processing the next task based on the associated presence information.

28 . The computer readable medium of claim 26 wherein the server is a publish-subscribe server.