Workflow, as the Workflow Management Coalition defines it, is: The automation of a business process, in whole or part, during which documents, information or tasks are passed from one participant to another for action, according to a set of procedural rules.

We want to automate activities. If we can. And there are seemingly endless opportunities to do so. Yet, through the years our organization has done a few things in this area. Already.

It would be easy if you could start from scratch. (Information) Technology continues to develop in a ever more professional pace.

Yet there are legacy issues. The companies that were pioneering with the first (electronic) commercial solutions are the ones that now are dealing with most of the problem in the area of streamlining organization and systems; aligning all the resources that are actively involved in the company (This is only partly true, because those companies have also the most experience and are best accustomed to rapid changes).

An example of a workflow system is the router that conducts the traffic from and to the internet to employees in your organization.

Like an orchestra, your company behaves as a team of resources fulfilling various activities. They can be human or systems. There is always human interaction, and what you want is that activities take a natural flow, like the rhythm of the music. You do not want activities to stop because they are waiting for a ferry-boat.

Workflow could be used for this. And there are dedicated workflow systems. Yet there is also workflow hidden in all those existing systems, like ERP packages, CRM systems and even content management systems. They have their own conductor.

In an ideal environment, a workflow could be introduced to manage the flow of activities. This would make you organization more flexible. But for this to be real, all (automated) activities should have a mechanism where they can be centrally conducted. Like the conductor of the orchestra does.

So, as all the systems in your organization have their own conductor, aligning this workflow is a difficult task. But that should have to stop your project. Take small steps and select the right conductor.

© 2006 Hans Bool

Hans Bool is the founder of Astor White a traditional management consulting company that offers online management advice. Astor Online solves issues in hours what normally would take days. You can apply for a free demo account

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