DPE/PAC: decentralized process engine with product access control

This paper proposes a process engine called DPE/PAC (decentralized process engine with product access control). It can be embedded in a PSEE (process-centered software engineering environment) to decentralize the PSEE. In a decentralized PSEE, every site can enact process programs and therefore the workload of the PSEE's sites is balanced (i.e., no site will become a bottleneck). Moreover, when a site is down, other sites can enact process programs. Therefore, a decentralized PSEE overcomes the following drawbacks of a traditional client/server PSEEs: (a) the server may become a bottleneck and (b) when the server is down, the entire process should be suspended. In addition to decentralizing PSEEs, DPE/PAC offers an additional function, which is ensuring secure product access (including the enforcement of separation-of-duty constraints). The function is essential for a software process that develops sensitive software systems.