What Is Workflow Process?
Workflow is a term that refers to automation of business process steps. Business transactions often cross organizational boundaries and require multiple parties to complete. Rather than perform a step and then communicate through memo or call to tell the next person to complete a step, workflow sends a message or puts the task in that person's to-do list. For example, when a new employee is hired in HR, workflow rules send a notification to the technology group to issue that person a company email account.
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Events
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Workflow is always triggered by an event such as "Customer submits an order" or "Manager requests a purchase order." Events can be anywhere in the process. A manager signing off on a purchase is just as much an event as the requisition being made to start the process.
Rules are attached to each event. The rules are based on status or other information and guide the workflow program so that it knows which step the process is in and what to do next.
Roles
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Workflow design is dependent on identifying roles within a business process. Roles are the people responsible for carrying out tasks to make the process complete its mission. Roles should be named for what the person does in the transaction, not department or job titles. "Time card approver" is a role, even though the person has a title of "Department manager."
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Routing
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Routings tell the workflow program how to find the appropriate person to send the workflow task. There can be a transaction called "Approve time card" that is generic to multiple departments in the organization. The "Approver" is a role, but many people can have that role. The routing part of workflow tells us how to identify which "Approver" through such information as the employee's department code.
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References
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