Patent ID: 7917344

Claim:
A method for managing business processes using a computing device, the computing device comprising a memory, the method comprising: defining, by the computing device, a plurality of process definitions, at least one of the process definitions comprising: at least one process step definition associated with an action to be performed; and an applicability trait defining: an organization unit to which the process definition applies; and a timeframe in which the process definition applies; storing the plurality of process definitions in the memory; instantiating two of the process definitions from the memory to create a first process instance and a second process instance; defining, by the computing device, a first scenario definition comprising: the first process instance; the second process instance; and an applicability trait defining: an organization unit to which the scenario definition applies; and a timeframe in which the scenario definition applies; storing the first scenario definition in the memory; and instantiating the first scenario definition from the memory to create a scenario instance.