Overview Workflow
A workflow is the automation of a process at the operational level. Information and tasks within the process are passed on among the persons involved in a partially or entirely automated way.
Workflow - Preconditions
- The individual process steps are clearly delimited,
- The workflow is clearly defined according to unequivocal rules,
- Persons involved in the process can be assigned functions, roles, and competences,
- Information processing and deployment can be automated, so that the entire work process from document access to archiving is largely predictable.
The workflow must therefore have a high degree of structuring, allow for the division of tasks, occur repeatedly, and suitable for being modeled.
Workflow - Benefit
- Optimization of machining processes
- Reduction of throughput and wait times
- Increased transparency
- Reduction of time-consuming research by employees
- Prevention of duplicate data
The objective of a workflow is to provide the right information and appropriate tools to the relevant editor at the right time.
Workflow - Components
A workflow consists of activities, organizational units, information objects, documents, and application systems based on which the following questions can be answered:
- Activities: What should be done?
- Organizational unit: Who should do something?
- Information objects: What information is needed to perform the activity?
- Documents: What information is generated while the activity is being performed?
- Application system: Which technology is used for performing the activity?
Workflow - Types
There are different types of workflows:
- The ad-hoc workflow is characterized in that the user defines, performs, and manages the process at run time. An example of an ad-hoc workflow is the sending of messages and e-mails.
- The flexible workflow is characterized in that the process is defined and managed by the process owner (management / organization ...). The user participates in the process and controls / influences it. An example would be a loan application.
- The structured workflow is characterized in that the process is defined and managed by the process owner. The user only participates in the process. An example would be a driver's license application.
Let’s start modeling workflows!
From here you can start to learn modeling a flowchart with ARIS Basic. The required steps are: Download ARIS Basic, have a look at some video tutorials, start modeling, share your models and discuss them with other users, and if you haven't joined the ARIS Community yet, do it now! ;-)
