A system that provides a fulfillment action (or “action”) is provided. The system defines an action specification including a pattern of a structured request to perform work on a subject. The system further defines data for the action specification, where the data includes an action code template that references action codes, and a parameter list template that references parameters. The system further defines the subject for the action specification, where the subject includes a subject template that references entity specifications. The system further defines a target for the action specification, where the target includes a target template that references resource specifications. The system further generates an instance of the action based on the action specification, where the pattern of the structured request to perform work is transformed into process logic configured to perform the work on the subject.