The workflow system and its applications

Recent information technological advances have led to the workflow system that provides an effective technical resolution for productivity improvement and business process reengineering. Workflow is a network of activities, also commonly known as a business process, defined for a specific business objective. The fundamental principle of workflow technology is the separation of business process from (software) applications and data. This implies a flexible, adaptable system that can support dynamic business changes. This flexibility, however, is not built upon complexity. Instead, the system should be easily modified for a new business environment. On the other hand, a good workflow system facilitates individual tasks, and collectively the entire business process by providing accurate inputs (data. forms tools) and effective routing control. Workflow technology has a wide range of applications and, when appropriately implemented, can increase productivity, reduce operating costs, improve response to customer requests and shorten the business process cycle. A great opportunity for a company is in evidence to advance its competition edge to a new level through implementation of workflow technology in the next few years. This paper discusses workflow environments, system components, architecture, integrated applications for external program execution, and future trends.management policies and a significant modification of information systems. In addition, since a business process usually involves;es human workers, efficiency may be further reduced due to absenteeism, turnover and inconsistent human behaviour. Unlike a manufacturing process,'standard' time is rarely established for a business process. Consequently, resource planning and productivity management become difficult. To resolve these problems, one needs a system that is less dependent on the process flow pattern and people who are involved in executing the process. The system should be able to deal with heterogeneous resources, e.g. human workers, different equipment and software applications. Finally, the system should have monitoring and modelling capabilities. Using the data collected during the execution of a business process, one can analyse performance behaviour through a process model for productivity improvement. Information technological advances in the past years have led to workflow technology' that provides a foundation for such a solution. This paper discusses the workflow system from both function and application viewpoints. The subjects in the subsequent sections are workflow definition, major functions, system components, architecture, areas of application and future outlook.