ORCHESTRATING PROCESSES

    

    Workflow software products have evolved from many diverse sources, including systems for image management, document management, relational and object     databases, and e-mail. Regardless of their origins, the systems propose to provide benefits in the way of improved efficiency by automating many business     processes to eliminate unnecessary steps, and better control over the processes by standardizing the work methods. By making the processing of information     more consistent, workflow techniques and systems tend to improve customer service because there are now more predictable levels of response to customers.

    Indeed, in many cases, there were no standards employed by companies to deal with customer service prior to implementing workflow. Again, the system used     was the ad hoc method ¬ whatever it takes to solve the immediate problem. Each customer service representative acted in his or her own way. Workflow     techniques help define the company methodology for this important function, and management can be assured that responses are similar in similar situations.

    Everybody who needs information, or needs to modify information, has access to it through workflow technology, Leslie observes. People can work on the same     document simultaneously by means of checklists that tell the user what tasks are required. "Our system is much more intelligent than a paper document," he     explains. "It can bring the proper work to the user, the data necessary to accomplish the task, and the application or module needed. This is a big step forward     from the common application interface of menus. It means no more hunting and pecking your way through menu after menu to find what you need. With our     workflow engine installed, you have a ready queue or in-tray ¬ much like the Microsoft Exchange inbox ¬ but instead of getting e-mail messages line by line, you     get your tasks or check lists, line by line. These are the things you need to work on during the current work period. Every time you complete a step, the screen     increments the status so you, and any other member of the team who is working on the same project, can see the status and the next steps.

    "This is a whole new methodology where we are getting away from the menu system into more of a push system," Leslie continues. "The idea is to push the work     to the user while giving the user the tools to accomplish the tasks being assigned at each stage."

    One DataWorks user is Michelle Lee of Silicon Wireless, a manufacturer of spread spectrum wireless equipment in Mountain View, Calif. Lee is implementing     workflow in the Avanté system the company installed in 1997. "We are currently working on an ECO (engineering change order) system that will provide an on-     line form for each stage of the approval cycle," she says. "Engineers and managers can check the document, review the change and authorize it. There will be no     need for meetings and interfacing in person unless a significant disagreement is found.

    "This will be particularly important for us," Lee continues, "since many of our managers and engineers travel extensively. It's hard to impossible to get documents     reviewed and approved with important members of the process out of town. The electronic workflow system allows people on the road to review and approve     documents on their laptop via e-mail."

    Silicon Wireless is developing the metrics they will use to assess the success of their workflow project. "I expect to see more time efficiency," Lee claims. "I'm     going to measure time on the actual procedures we implement. We can measure the time it takes to accomplish a task now and compare it to the online time with     workflow implemented. Since several agencies ¬ the FCC, European and Canadian regulatory agencies, Underwriters Laboratory ¬ require us to have solid audit     trails, that will be an important part of what we hope to get from the software system."

    There is an additional challenge facing Silicon Wireless and its workflow implementation. "We are going through the ISO 9000 certification process while we are     implementing workflow," Lee notes. "That's actually a good thing because we can see how workflow helps our quality efforts. ISO 9000 requires extensive     documenting of all systems, and workflow is just what we need to meet that requirement. We're going faster on the ISO certification process because we have     workflow."

    The next step in workflow development is a move toward a more customer-centric business model where the Internet is the focal point. The vast connected     virtual enterprise called the Internet or World Wide Web holds both awe and delight for technologists. What it holds for business is another thing. Companies can     offer more service, more support and more choice by enabling their workflow system to access and become part of the Internet. This gives the customer and     supplier sides of the supply chain an entry point to the information queue. Instead of reviewing documents, these trading partners pull down information about their     orders, about the orders being placed against them, and the status of manufacturing in general.

    The extension of the enterprise onto the Internet means that there will soon be no limit to the number of rocks in the flow of information. All the more reason to     implement workflow techniques and technologies to smooth them over and make the flow of work a rapid, rushing river of productivity, not a whitewater rapids     with danger lurking at every turn.