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many aspects where administrative and service processes differ from manufacturing
processes.
It may be that while the computational metaphor has been a major enabler of
workflow solutions, it may also have played the part of an inhibiting factor in the
development of workflow systems able to effectively and dynamically support flex-
ible work practices. Many technologically adept systems fail because they ignore
human and social factors. A workflow management system that better supports flex-
ible work environments requires a sound theoretical foundation that describes how
work is conceived, carried out, and reflected upon. One such theoretical base can be
found in Activity Theory.

4.3.1 Activity Theory – An Overview

This section gives a brief summary of Activity Theory, which forms the theoretical
framework for the Worklet Service. Activity Theory is a powerful and clarifying
descriptive tool rather than a strongly predictive theory that originated in the former
Soviet Union in the 1930s and 1940s as part of the cultural-historical school of
psychology.
Before an activity is performed in the real world, it is typically planned using a
model. Generally, the better the model, the more successful the activity. However,
models and plans are not rigid and accurate descriptions of the execution steps but
always incomplete and tentative. Plans can be used as historical data by investigat-
ing not adherence to the plan, but the deviations from it. It is the deviations that
represent a learning situation, and therefore only the deviations need to be recorded.
The experience of using a plan to guide an activity is gained during the instantia-
tion of the activity. In order for plans to become resources for future instantiations
of an activity, it is important that the planning tool allows for the ongoing creation
and dynamic modification of a plan based on experience gained while operating the
plan.
One of the traditional limitations of workflow implementations in less than
strictly defined work processes is that it is very difficult if not impossible to incorpo-
rate every deviation into the workflow template and therefore future instantiations
of the plan. Some deviations may apply to every future instance. Some may only
apply once in a while, but these cases should not be left out of the plan. In the
normal course of events, these “deviations” are performed externally to the system.
But incorporating dynamic change is a fundamental feature of the Worklet Service’s
design.
To summarize, Activity Theory states that human activity has four basic charac-
teristics:
1. Every activity is directed towards a material or ideal object satisfying a need,
which forms the overall motive of the activity. For example, an order fulfillment
process is directed toward completing the order and delivering the goods to the
customer