Over the last few decades, software has slowly been decoupled. Client / Server removed the database from the fat client. Thin-client decoupled the user interface from the business logic. Service-oriented architectures decouple the integration-logic from the business logic. Now, process-driven architectures decouple the process-logic from the business logic.

In a process driven architecture, the application is viewed from a process perspective. A process is broken down into major activities and each activity is broken down into tasks. The process information is then recorded as a “digital process” that can be executed inside of a “process execution engine” or a “process virtual machine”.

The process driven architecture will leverage the service-oriented enterprise to provide a consistent means of accessing the variety of systems that are utilized across a process. Process driven architectures are at the heart of a class of software called “Business Process Management” (BPM).