The new software also includes a process execution engine that orchestrates the activities of users and their roles with the back-end system, and it notifies users when they have a task that needs to be performed.

Version 1.5 also integrates with BEA's AquaLogic Interaction Collaboration product so users can share documents with others who need to work with a process by checking documents in and out.

Andrew Reid, vice president of software development at Red Bank, N.J.-based home builder K. Hovnanian Homes, said his company plans to use the updated BEA tool to help it automate paper-based processes for employees to get supervisor approval to access certain applications or data that require security clearance.

The software will make the process of moving requests through supervisors and district managers more efficient, and it will allow the company to have an electronic record of approvals for processes -- like providing an employee access to accounts payable -- that fall under the federal Sarbanes-Oxley Act, he added.

In addition, the company, which now uses Plumtree's software, will evaluate the tool to be used to queue data updates -- such as updating the status of a home under construction -- for employees to use when hosted applications go down or when users don't have connectivity, he said.