A good implementation of work flow handling for Cocoon could be the most important piece of missing capability that can be added. For the most part good work flow engines are expensive proprietary pieces of software. If a generalized, open source, document handling framework included a 90% solution for work flow it could truly revolutionize many, many portions of the IT industry. This isn't something that you just want to slap together.
My personal opinion of it is this (and the precondition of the following is my assumption that Cocoon has no mechanism already in place that would make up the perfect workflow engine):
There are a bunch of specialized open source workflow engines available. See the list Johan posted earlier:
http://wiki.cocoondev.org/Wiki.jsp?page=Workflow
If you need a fully featured workflow engine try to integrate one of those. Some of them are specializing in building GUIs. I see more value in doing so instead of inventing another one.
What I want (again just my personal opinion) is one readily available that I can "just use" within Cocoon in a simple way. And I believe we can put both of these behind the same interface.
That being said I am intersted in your opinion what a good implementation might look like (and what all these other implementations are lacking). I'm not interested in competing with all the other projects (being more specialized in the topic) over the best workflow engine available.
Guido
If you want, push a prototype out the door, but if you do so, label it that. Moreover, I would only do so with the explicit intention of destroying it in the future. Work flow is just too important to implement incorrectly.
