A workflow modeling system for capturing data provenance

•Workflow explicitly model steps associated with knowledge creation processes.•Business, scientific & experimental workflows and recipes are structurally similar.•The proposed framework models the hierarchical natures of interacting workflows.•Data nodes define metadata and provide direct links to the data in the repository.•Workflows link disparate data and encompass multiple domains and authority.

A workflow is an abstraction of the steps associated with the underlying work process and is typically modeled as a directed graph. The workflow concept under its various manifestations has been used to model applications in diverse areas, including project planning, manufacturing, scientific experiments, execution of computer software, and publishing. While the Open Provenance Model Core Specification had laid the foundation for defining the key concepts in a workflow, a simplified high level graphical representation of a workflow that is widely applicable is not available. In this paper we describe a novel general framework for building workflows and implementing the associated actions, which will facilitate understanding of work processes across multiple disciplines. As such, most work processes are organized hierarchically with well defined control and management responsibilities. This framework will facilitate integration and coordination of activities across associated domains. Additionally, it will act as a template to refer to the associated metadata as well as reference to access the instance data from archives of completed workflow cases. When a specific case is in progress, a finite state machine will guide the user through the steps and provide up to date information about the current state. We describe the main building blocks in the framework, their functionalities and illustrate the integration of workflows between an experimental and a scientific process.