I've been interested in Workflow and Business Process Management. Boiling business processes down to essential components, such as:

• Input
• Approval
• Execute
• Record
• Reconcile

I've seen quite a few workflow products on the market, and some open-source solutions that may garner a look. Anyhow, I've been tinkering with something as well. I'll share more as the idea develops.

Workflow vs State Machine:

• Workflow controls each step of the process, a-priori.
• State machine is an environment of objects, reactive to certain states.