Patent ID: 6990664

Claim:
A method for managing a workflow process to bring execution time for said process at least closer to an expected deadline, said process including a plurality of work nodes and a set of priority levels associated with each work node, said method including the steps of: generating for each work node a set of expected time to complete (ETC) values for each priority level, each ETC value denoting a cumulative time to complete the process including the time taken by the corresponding node to complete its activity for a selected priority level, wherein said ETC values are generated using formula ETC=η+2σ and wherein η is a statistical mean and a is a statistical standard deviation of values collected during a learning phase; selecting for each work node a priority level that has a corresponding ETC value less than or equal to a remaining time available to meet said expected deadline; and executing activities associated with said work nodes in accordance with said selected priority levels, thereby brining execution time for said process at least closer to said expected deadline.