(1) The catalyst used to call event-driven services controlled within CICS. A DWE causes a unit of work to be scheduled later, normally at the end of the task or just before or after syncpoint.
(2) A work element created and placed on a chain (the DWE chain) to save information about an event that must be completed before task termination but that is not completed at the present time. DWEs are also used to save information about work to be backed out in case of an abend.