Resumen
This article details problems with process description, process assessment and process synchronization as observed in two large European companies in the automotive and production/utility plant engineering sectors. It describes a process engineering environment called Process management for Virtual Enterprises (PROVE) that orchestrates repository and visualization techniques to alleviate some of these problems. Process knowledge is inherent, but formal manifestations are rather shallow. The goal is to design corporate processes as sustainable resources for improving a company's competitiveness. A process is usually derived from an analysis of existing behavior inside or outside the organization. Synchronization of processes refers to the activity of coordinating dependencies among process tasks. Some of these dependencies might be based on consumer-producer relationships, while others are conflicts due to resources shared. In a conceptual stance, more sophisticated facilities for document classification are instrumental. Documents produced in one process context should also be visible in other contexts. Yet, any approach causing extra overhead for document classification will be rejected by mechanical engineers.