Knowledge Transfer for innovative Products and Services

On the basis of our historical background, we were able to build competence in a multitude of research-driven projects, both domestic and international. Since many years, PROMATIS is carrying out projects with the University of Karlsruhe (TH), the J.W. Goethe University in Frankfurt/Main, the University of Muenster and the George Mason University in Washington. Cooperation projects provide a good basis for the involvement of PhD candidates and students - an especially fruitful form of knowledge transfer.

	Workflow-based Management of Learning Objects One of the problems with existing learning-object management systems is the lack of support for e-learning business processes, i.e. the teaching-, learning- and administration processes. By this reason, the content-oriented view of e-learning is completed with the process-oriented view of learning-object management. Thanks to the utilization of XML-Nets, a new form of higher Petri-Nets, allowing for the integrated display of processes of the learning-object management and of complex learning objects, the enhancement of an e-learning-platform with a workflow management system is possible. The process- oriented view is especially useful when it comes to process support and measurement of results. Due to the modeling of process patterns, the processes of learning-object management can also be communicated between the process participants, e.g. teachers, students or administrators.
	Business Process Performance Magangement in Supply Chains Within the scope of the cooperation project, the functional range and the utilization potential of a software tool (Performance Manager), which is to be implemented as a prototype, is developed on the basis of XML-nets to support the process management in supply chains. The functionality of this tool covers not only modeling-, presentation- and analysis functions, but also functions for the coordination and monitoring of the relevant processes. During the cooperation project it is illustrated that a process management tool based on XLM-Nets has significant advantages not only when it comes to modeling and analyzing supply chain processes. Because of its open architecture, the tool can easily be connected to operational transaction systems (e.g. ERP, SCM or CRM systems), and used for the coordination and monitoring of processes. Through the use of monitoring-modules on the basis of XML-nets, users can map and acquire the current values of relevant performance figures (e.g. cycle times, process costs). Due to the utilization of specific net constructions in XML nets, like for example fact transitions, a comparison between the acquired performance figure values and target values defined 'ex ante', is possible.
	Distributed Business Processes Distributed information systems provide a basis, on which new business processes can be built to flexibly consolidate competencies, independent from location and time. A traditionally central field of application for PROMATIS is the design of distributed engineering-processes. In this area, PROMATIS is taking care of both technological and organizational tasks, and is supporting the conception and implementation of new services built thereupon.
	Distributed Information Systems Distributed systems are based on powerful communication- and database technologies. It is one of the major goals of PROMATIS to consolidate these towards more significant services. In doing so, state-of-the-art developments in the software area are integrated.