Introduction Today, process-oriented organization structures are widely seen as a suitable way to overcome coordination problems between functional organizational units, which result in long cycle times, low product quality, and redundant task fulfillment, among others.

While the interest in process-oriented structures is high, the process-oriented organization has been implemented only by few companies. Some of the reasons for the limited process orientation of existing companies are existing information technology infrastructures, which support functional organizations but hinder the transition towards process-oriented structures.

Workflow management systems address this problem. They support the execution of business processes through the automated coordination of activities and resources according to a formally defined model of the business process, the workflow model. The use of workflow technology as a central building block of modern information system architectures illustrates the increasing importance of this type of application. The use of workflow technology leverages the value of existing information system infrastructures and helps enterprises in the transition towards a process-oriented organization.

The implementation of process concepts within organizations is only one step towards achieving a corporate process focus. In order to continuously reap the benefits from a process-oriented organization, continuous maintenance and control of the business processes is required. Process management deals with the efficient and effective execution of business processes. It consists of the planning, implementation, enactment and controlling of processes, forming a life-cycle that leads to continuous process improvement. Process management addresses the requirement of companies to stay adaptable to environmental and internal changes as well as the requirement for the realization of efficiency gains through the exploitation of cost-effective ways to produce goods and perform services.

Workflow-based process controlling systems provide companies with the ability to accurately measure the operational performance of business processes and to realize continuous process management. The combination of process audit trails with data warehouse technology and operational business data allows for complex analyses, that help enterprises to assess their current performance more accurately than by using traditional (mainly financial) key performance indicators. The increasing maturity of workflow and data warehouse products fulfill the precondition for the implementation of workflow-driven controlling systems.