Introduction to Workflow
Overview
Every business has a set of processes that contain a series of activities (which can be subdivided into tasks). These activities have a logical sequence or cause-and-effect relationship with each other, and the process will eventually have an output to internal members or external customers, such as product development process, generation and manufacturing process, etc.
In addition to business processes, there are approval processes for risk control, such as procurement approval, leave approval, etc.
Workflow provides an automated process model for business processes and approval processes. By analyzing the activities in the disassembled process, users can define tasks, roles, and rules in the workflow and execute and monitor them, reducing repetitive manual operations and improving efficiency.
Composition of Workflow
A workflow consists of triggers and several action nodes. A trigger is a switch for the process. A workflow relies on multiple action nodes to accomplish various tasks.
A simple workflow model:
When there is a new work order, different responsible persons are assigned to follow up the work order depending on the type of issue.
Triggers: when a work order is created or changed.
Automatic action 1 (logical branch): two branches are set up for purchase inquiries and usage inquiries.
Automatic action 2 (update record): the corresponding action under each branch, to modify the field of the person in charge.
Features of Workflow
Workflow is a new type of business process management (BPM) tool, which has the following features compared to traditional BPM.
It runs completely on the Internet and can be connected to external data sources.
The process of creation and maintenance is more friendly and does not require difficult IT knowledge.
It emphasizes automated triggering and execution.
Information technology problems that can be solved with workflow include:
Automated processing of data
- To add or modify data in other worksheets when data changes meet the conditions.
- To modify data in certain records when a set time is reached.
Approval in business process
- Approval for sales orders, project changes, etc.
- Approval for leave of absence, item receipt, etc.
Notify internal and external personnel to view or fill in data
- Send system messages to notify internal members to view or modify data changes.
- Send records to external users by email or SMS for viewing or modifying.
Interface data from external systems
- Push data in the worksheets to external systems.
- Obtain data in external systems actively or passively and write or update it to the worksheet.
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