Interaction with an application based on a metaphor of entity properties. A common example is representing a data structure as its paper equivalent, e.g. a document, file folder, or book. Other examples include word processing systems and geographical information systems. Technology is permitting graphic and audio metaphors to become increasingly powerful in supporting business processes. Processing of extracts created within the other frameworks to create final-form reports, documents, and output data files, along with the dissemination of these outputs to their proper destination.
Electronic mail is a common example.
Mere availability of a reuse library isn't enough - mere availability of repair dispatch objects, without understanding of the generic aspects of workflow, will not guarantee success in creating a workflow application, especially if these objects are freely intermixed with a host of other objects in the reuse library. This brings us to the second important aspect of application architecture, systematic accumulation of architectural expertise. A mechanism is needed to help disseminate architectural understanding throughout development organizations, and, eventually, the entire software development community. These features are organized into an overall architectural framework. There is, for example, a chapter on the common features of workflow functionality.