Proposal Workflow Management System A web-based application for replacing the manual approval process of grant proposal submission
Abstract
The process of creating a research proposal and submitting it for final approval is a very time consuming process as any proposal may require multiple parties to review and authorize it and every step. There may even be complications that arise during the process such as absenteeism or delegation of authority. Issues of delegation of authority in the absences of a person in the work-flow process, such as who can be authorized to sign for what and for how long they may have that authority may also arise. Digital solutions exist for this work flow but lack the agility to meet changing needs in access control.
Thus, there is a need for flexibility in changing security policies. We propose a separation of code and policy by utilizing the Extensible Access Control Markup Language (XACML) and making use of Attribute Based Access Control (ABAC) policies we can separate our workflow program from our access control thus allowing for a more fine-grained control of those policies This can help avoid the costly work of recoding when security policies change, it will also allow for a more flexible control of security policies demanded by an organization making use of this program.
Proposal Workflow Management System A web-based application for replacing the manual approval process of grant proposal submission
The process of creating a research proposal and submitting it for final approval is a very time consuming process as any proposal may require multiple parties to review and authorize it and every step. There may even be complications that arise during the process such as absenteeism or delegation of authority. Issues of delegation of authority in the absences of a person in the work-flow process, such as who can be authorized to sign for what and for how long they may have that authority may also arise. Digital solutions exist for this work flow but lack the agility to meet changing needs in access control.
Thus, there is a need for flexibility in changing security policies. We propose a separation of code and policy by utilizing the Extensible Access Control Markup Language (XACML) and making use of Attribute Based Access Control (ABAC) policies we can separate our workflow program from our access control thus allowing for a more fine-grained control of those policies This can help avoid the costly work of recoding when security policies change, it will also allow for a more flexible control of security policies demanded by an organization making use of this program.