WorkFlow Groupware

Systems

CIS 1051 & CIS 1052 Office 1

Automation
 WORKFLOW SYSTEMS

• AUTOMATING GROUP PROCESSES

• Workflow is focussed on process –
combining individual achievements into a
sequence of actions that achieve a goal

CIS 1051 & CIS 1052 Office 2

Automation
 WORKFLOW SYSTEMS
• Applications which integrate these various activities
across various tools, platforms, data sources.
• The workflow system gives information on the state of
various objects in process, where it is, where who is
meant to do the next task on the object.
• Further more it alerts the administrator to any
bottlenecks ro problems, provides important
measurement statistics on how the business process is
taking place e.g. average time to process a claim,
number of claims approved in month.

CIS 1051 & CIS 1052 Office 3

Automation
MAIN COMPONENTS

• Activities
• People
• Tools
• Data

CIS 1051 & CIS 1052 Office 4

Automation
 ACTIVITIES
The various processes that must be carried out in
sequence in order to achieve a business goal
e.g. to process a sales order the following
activities are required:
• Enter order details
• Validate using a human expert or an expert
system
• Check price and availability of components
• Update order status
• Confirm availability to customer
• Confirm order

CIS 1051 & CIS 1052 Office 5

Automation
 PEOPLE
The persons or automated agents instead of
people who perform and control the activities
required to achieve the goals – using business
rules and conditions. They may be in different
departments, with different skills and
responsibilityes. They will have different roles to
fulfill in the process e.g.
• Sales Clerk
• Engineer
• Store Manager
• Sales Manager

CIS 1051 & CIS 1052 Office 6

Automation
 TOOLS
Various tools may be used for the process – each
particular to the type of activity e.g. Spreadsheet
for modelling,
• Wordprocessing for writing letters , filling in
forms,
• Database System for keeping track of orders,
• Database System update financial records
• Email system to enable communication between
personnel and with client

CIS 1051 & CIS 1052 Office 7

Automation
 DATA
• The different tasks may need to source
information or store information in a variety
of data stores e.g.
• Manual registers to record quotations and orders
placed
• Spreadsheet files for order lists, estimate
calculations, budget control
• Computer transaction files to update ordering
databases
• Computer database files with financial data
• Image file databases for product profiles used in
quotations CIS 1051 & CIS 1052 Office 8
Automation
 APPLICATIONS THAT
INCORPORATE WORKFLOW
MANAGEMENT
• A varied number of applications are
including workflow in their functionality e.g.
• Document and Image Management
• Forms Processing
• Mail Rules and Filtering
• Transaction Based Applications

CIS 1051 & CIS 1052 Office 9

Automation
 DOCUMENT AND IMAGE
MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS

• Simple systems that route wordprocessed

documents through an approval cycle
• Engineering Design system which routes
specifications through an approval cycle
• Images (in the form of bitmap files) treated as
documents can also be passed through a
routing system along with wordprocessed or
spreadsheet files e.g. MEPA applications

CIS 1051 & CIS 1052 Office 10

Automation
FORMS PROCESSING SYSTEMS
• Systems that create forms (not dbms)
which can be routed through an
authorisation and clearance procedure
spanning several persons.

CIS 1051 & CIS 1052 Office 11

Automation
 EMAIL SYSTEMS
Workflow based on Email systems
• Serial routing of mail messages with
attachments
• Event-based rules e.g. for filtering,
launching external applications

CIS 1051 & CIS 1052 Office 12

Automation
 TRANSACTION BASED
APPLICATIONS
• Sales ordering systems
• Financial systems – budget processing,
end of month report approval cycles
• Travel Reservation systems

CIS 1051 & CIS 1052 Office 13

Automation
 APPLICATIONS BUILT FOR
WORKFLOW MANAGEMENT
• There Systems which attempt to
incorporate all these types of processing in
one platform.
• Some workflow applications allow the
integration of different applications used
for various tasks. Standards exist to
permit interoperability between diverse
applications for the purpose of workflow
management.

CIS 1051 & CIS 1052 Office 14

Automation
 IMPORTANT ELEMENTS IN
DESIGN

• Routes • Processes
• Rules • Policies
• Roles • Practices

CIS 1051 & CIS 1052 Office 15

Automation
 ROUTES
• Objects created in the system need to be routed
sequentially or in parrallel with rendezvous
points
• Can be sent in broadcast mode e.g. using email
to inform everyone at once
• Or in sequences defined by user at the time of
processing
• Objects can be of different types –
wordprocessing documents, spreadsheets,
images, executable programs.

CIS 1051 & CIS 1052 Office 16

Automation
 RULES
• Workflow systems have to look at decisional processing
– routing or handling which is subject to conditions e.g. if
Order price > 10000 pass on for approval to Sales
Manager, if Order price <10000 pass on for Approval by
Sales Assistant Manager.
• Rules define whether an object e.g. a sales order is to
take one route or another or even turned back.
• Business users can think through the more obvious ,
more commonly used business rules.
• Application Developers can look at the whole range of
possibilities using analytic skills.

CIS 1051 & CIS 1052 Office 17

Automation
 ROLES
• Humans have a role in the processing of these
objects – approval, data input, checking, routing.
Instead of specifying individuals, it is better to
define roles.
• Specific individuals can fill in a role. If the
persons are not available, another person may
fill the role and the process does not stop.
• Sometimes persons may switch roles e.g. order
inputter and checker may be person A and
person B and at another time they may switch
roles.
CIS 1051 & CIS 1052 Office 18
Automation
 PROCESSES
• Processes or procedures are varied and
personal to each organization. Often they
have developed over time, derived from
the way various people worked over the
history of the organization.

CIS 1051 & CIS 1052 Office 19

Automation
 POLICIES
• The formal expression of how the
company should work.

• Knowledge of these policies is important to

design a susccessful workflow system

CIS 1051 & CIS 1052 Office 20

Automation
 PRACTICES
• How policies are actually implemented in
real life.
• Often several exceptions exist to handle
situations which are not envisaged in the
policies.
• It is important to know what practices are
in place as they provide insight into the
difficulties encountered and how policies
are modified to complete the processes.
CIS 1051 & CIS 1052 Office 21
Automation
CIS 1051 & CIS 1052 Office 22
Automation
CIS 1051 & CIS 1052 Office 23
Automation