System and method for creating, executing and maintaining cross-enterprise processes

1. Field of the Invention A system and method for creating, executing, and maintaining shared, automated business processes across distributed organizations comprises capabilities that enable interoperation among heterogeneous information systems. The system includes a plurality of independent communicating subsystems called sites that have a server with common means of representing and executing shared public process definitions and private process definitions. Process execution comprises coordinated inter-site message exchanges that are coupled with controlled sequences of actions that are local to each of the sites. The public process definition or module captures interactions among the independent sites. Interactions include communication events in which one site sends a message of a known type to another site. Each definition specifies a set of valid sequences of communication events among the participating sites. Associated with any public process definition is a set of lower level or private process definitions or modules. The private process definition specifies a set of possible local actions that can be executed at the site when that particular public process node is executed. In the preferred embodiment, the private process definition is defined in terms of constructs such as operating parameters and software application interactions.