IMAGE FORMING SYSTEM AND CONTROL METHOD THEREFOR

An image forming system which freely combines functions of a plurality of devices connected on a network in accordance with necessity, and a control system for the system. Each of the plurality of devices stores information indicating functions which can be provided by the device in advance. A functional unit which serves as a supervisor collects these stored information and analyzes a combination of functions to perform operation designated by a user, based on the collected information. Then the supervisor combines the functions based on the result of analysis and performs the desired processing operation by the combination of functions.