Workflow Run (WR)

The Workflow Run extension describes computational workflow execution within the ARC Abstract Model. It adds specialized context for research in which computational processes use data and produce new results.

#A workflow and its execution

A workflow describes a computational procedure. A run describes an execution of that procedure. Keeping these concepts distinct helps relate an intended analysis to what was performed with particular inputs and recorded parameters.

This extends the provenance core, which connects research resources with processes, inputs, and outputs. It does not make a particular workflow language a universal requirement for an ARC Workspace.

#A shared example

Consider a measurements table used to produce a derived analysis result. The workflow describes the analysis procedure, while a run records its execution in relation to the input measurements and resulting output.

The semantic core explains the measured variables and units. The administrative core provides identity, responsibility, and reuse conditions. Run information contributes the computational history needed to interpret the result alongside those other descriptions.

#Across workspace and publication

ISA-XLSX supports tabular descriptions of computational workflows and runs alongside experimental metadata. The ISA-based workspace profile provides a working context for these descriptions and associated resources.

A transformation to ARC RO-Crate can express the recorded execution context in the publication representation. Its usefulness depends on the information captured and the relationships preserved. Recording a run does not by itself establish that an analysis is scientifically correct or can be reproduced in every environment.