Patent ID: 8478602

Claim:
A computer implemented method for executing a process, said method comprising: constructing a business process definition stored in a repository, wherein said business process definition includes one or more activities represented by graphical icons, said one or more activities being coupled by transitions, and wherein each activity includes one or more tasks that one executed complete that activity; generating a graphical interface used to create a customized compensation task and constructing the compensation task based on instructions received on said graphical interface, wherein the graphical interface includes an activity properties interface that can be used to associate, for each activity, the customized compensation task with at least one of the activities tasks, and wherein the customized compensation task executes when the tasks fail, and wherein the compensation task includes a repetition factor rendered on the graphical interface, which when selected, causes the customized compensation task to be repeated a specified number of times, and wherein a plurality of customized compensation tasks and an associated task is stored in a task table in the repository; storing the business process definition into the repository; wherein, upon executing the business process by a process execution engine, the process execution engine initiates an instance of the business process definition stored in the repository, executes the one or more activities of the instance of the business process definition, determines that execution of a particular task has failed, determines whether the particular task that failed was associated with one of the plurality of customized compensation task as defined in the task table, determines whether the repetition factor has been selected, and executes the customized compensation task associated with the particular task that failed to compensate for the failed task, wherein when it is determined that the repetition factor been selected, the customized compensation task is executed the specified number of times, and wherein the execution of the customized compensation task achieves steady and consistent state of the instance of the process before the at least one of the series of tasks that has failed in execution is retried by the process execution engine; and wherein the execution of the customized compensation task causes the execution of the business process instance to continue to the next task uninterrupted by the failure of the particular task.