Saudi Computer Journal

This issue of the Saudi Computer Journal is being published at a special time, an anniversary which means a lot to me and to the Editorial Board of the Journal. It is being published exactly three years since its reappearance after a five year publishing pending. The journal’s return has been accompanied by a number of noticeable improvements in both appearance and content and these have been noted and encouraged by our readers.

Now that we have reached the first issue of the 4th volume we can confidently state that we are an established and recognised international refereed journal. We publish important applied papers which present the best practice in the fields of applied computing and informatics. Our slogan is ‘Developing Research Towards ICT Best Practice’. The journal also publishes a number of scientific reviews in each issue, such as the Information Technology Review, the Internet Review, the Academic Review, and the Book Review. This is besides reflecting and responding to the most significant computer-related scientific events worldwide.

During the short period of its ‘second’ life, the Applied Computing and Informatics journal released two special issues, one about “Electronic Commerce and Electronic Government - the current and future” and another one about “Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP): applications, opportunities and challenges”. The journal is now announcing a third special issue about “Business Process Management: the best practices”.

This special issue will include the following topics:

•	Business process modeling and analysis.
•	Software architectures.
•	Processes and service composition.
•	Business process and e-service repositories.
•	E-services architectures and technology.
•	Quality of Service in business processes.
•	Process planning and flexible workflow.
•	Formal models in business process management.
•	Process configuration and assembly.
•	Process simulation.
•	Process monitoring and tracking.
•	Process data warehousing and analysis.
•	Process mining.
•	Process patterns.
•	Security in business processes.
•	Case handling systems.
•	Intra-organizational process support, contracts.
•	Process verification and validation.
•	Workflow management systems.
•	Process modeling and enactment in ERP, CRM, & SCM systems.
•	Process-enhanced groupware.

As a result of the journal’s recent progress and cutting edge insights, King Abdul Aziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) has decided to support and sponsor this journal. In acknowledgement of this generous gesture, I have to thank His Highness Dr. Turki Bin Saud Bin Mohammed Al-Saud, Vice President of King Abdul Aziz City for Science and Technology for Research Institutions, who was the initiator of this support and sponsorship.

I ask Allah (SWT) to guide us to offer the best to the citizens of this country and to support its scientific advancement.

Dr. Majed Abdullah Al-Mashari Al-Saud

Chairman of the Saudi Computer Society

Journal Editor-In-Chief