[Zope3-dev] Workflow -> trying to summarize today's chat APPcentric wf

sathya sathya@zeomega.com
Mon, 11 Nov 2002 15:10:02 -0500


Shane Hathaway wrote:

> sathya wrote:
>
>>>    <hathaway_> In application-centric workflow, you choose a verb, 
>>> and then a noun.
>>>
>>>    Example: TBD 
>>
>>
>>
>> I would like to know how to diffrentiate between the two. It seems 
>> like a chicken and egg problem. I wonder how can you choose a verb
>> without having a premonition of what object you want to apply it to.  
>> If I click a button called submit which is a verb that triggers some 
>> events
>> I have already made a decision on what object it is applicable to .I 
>> would appreciate any insights.
>
>
> Actually, Ulrich's example below is an example of choosing the verb 
> before the noun.
>
>>>       If an customer requests an order .. all the person, who takes
>>>       this order wants to do is: Order something and let the system
>>>       choose what needs to be done with this request.
>>
>
> In this process, the user chooses "order something" before choosing 
> what to order.  Verb then noun. 

it makes sense. Sounds like its applicability is domain restricted  and 
cannot be applied in all situations. For instance, extending  the example
Its like amazon having a million objects registered  as being interested 
in the "order"  event /verb and expect the workflow service to
notify all of them that the event has occured and  cause them to 
excercise predefined actions, OTH  if  the object is picked first and 
then  the verb applied to it,reduces the problem size to one object 
which I assume you are refering to as more scalable ?
Thanks very much for the insight.

>
>
> In an object-centric user interaction, the user chooses an object 
> (say, a sweater) then says what to do with it (order it).  Noun then 
> verb.  In either case, by the time you click a submit button, in a 
> sense you have chosen both a verb and a noun.
>
> The difference is subtle but important.  In the procedural mindset 
> (verb then noun), verbs are more important, while in the 
> object-oriented mindset (noun then verb), nouns are more important.  
> People who design workflows (and user interfaces) tend to think one 
> way or the other.  The object-oriented approach scales better, but not 
> many non-geeks understand it well.  So it must be possible to do 
> either one.
>
> That was pretty abstract, I hope it made sense. :-)
>
> Shane
>
>
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