Patterns-Based Evaluation of Open Source BPM Systems: The Cases of jBPM, OpenWFE, and Enhydra Shark

The abundance of approaches towards business process specification and enactment is well-known and is an ongoing source of confusion. One of the objectives of the Workflow Patterns Initiative is to provide insights into comparative strengths and weaknesses of the state-of-the-art in Process Aware Information Systems (PAISs). With the increasing maturity and popularity of open source software it seems opportune to take a closer look at such offerings in the Business Process Management (BPM) area. This report provides a patterns-based evaluation of three well-known open source workflow management systems: jBPM, OpenWFE, and Enhydra Shark.