A method of workflow scheduling based on colored Petri nets

Effective methods of workflow scheduling can improve the performance of workflow systems. Based on the study of existing scheduling methods, a method of workflow scheduling, called phased method, is proposed. This method is based on colored Petri nets. Activities of workflows are divided into several groups to be scheduled in different phases using this method. Details of the method are discussed. Experimental results show that the proposed method can deal with the uncertainties and the dynamic circumstances very well and a satisfactory balance can be achieved between static global optimization and dynamic local optimization.