Optimisation of Workflows by Sampling and Stochastic Branch and Bound

Workflow (Management) Systems provide means and techniques to model, design, perform and control repetitive business processes. The quality of commercial workflow systems usually is highly determined by their versatility and multi-purpose-application; a present day trend to improve workflow systems is the enrichment of modeling methods and techniques in order to enlarge design alternatives.
In this paper, we propose a technique called stochastic branch and bound to find such optimum combinations of measures. Modeling and evaluation of time-critical processes are becoming an essential feature for commercial applications as penalties and fines are an increasingly applied means on highly competitive markets.