The Scientific Workflow Systems Terminology Working Group addresses a critical challenge facing the scientific computing community: navigating the vast and fragmented landscape of over 300 available workflow management systems (WMSs). While scientific workflows have become the predominant format for describing complex, multi-step research applications, no single turnkey solution has emerged to address the diversity of scientific processes and computing infrastructures. Researchers frequently struggle to select appropriate workflow systems, often relying on social factors such as community adoption or word-of-mouth recommendations rather than systematic technical evaluation.
To bridge this gap, our working group develops and maintains a standardized terminology framework that enables scientists to systematically characterize, compare, and select workflow management systems based on objective technical criteria aligned with their specific computational needs. Through community-driven collaboration involving workflow system developers, domain scientists, and computing practitioners, we aim to provide a common vocabulary that facilitates informed decision-making, promotes better understanding of system capabilities, and ultimately helps researchers identify the most suitable tools for their scientific endeavors.
Products
- Suter, F., Coleman, T., Altintas, Í., Badia, R. M., Balis, B., Chard, K., Colonnelli, I., Deelman, E., Tommaso, P. D., Fahringer, T., Goble, C., Jha, S., Katz, D. S., Köster, J., Leser, U., Mehta, K., Oliver, H., Peterson, J.-L., Pizzi, G., Pottier, L., Sirvent, R., Suchyta, E., Thain, D., Wilkinson, S. R., Wozniak, J. M., Ferreira da Silva, R. (2025). A Terminology for Scientific Workflow Systems. Future Generation Computer Systems.