1. In a method of process, factory-floor, environmental, or computer aided manufacturing-based control, the improvement comprising: executing a workflow that defines one or more actions to he taken in response to one or more triggering events that occur with respect to control equipment for a process, and/or an operator for such control equipment, monitoring the process and/or the control equipment to detect one or more of said triggering events, responding to detection of one or more of said triggering events by executing one or more actions associated therewith in the workflow and thereby invoking, via one or more component object model (COM) component interfaces, one or more respective control applications that interface with the control equipment and/or the operator, and calling the COM component interface for at least one said control application with (i) a first method in order to identify any of input and output arguments for that interface, and (ii) a second method in order to execute a task associated with the interface using arguments identified by calling the first method.