Workflow Management Technology

Abstract

Computer technology for process support has a long tradition. Information systems have tried to cope with this issue by transaction processing. Previous attempts to automate office work and increase productivity failed, because individual activities were automated without an understanding of how those activities fit into the entire business process. On the basis of past experience of procedure automation systems, new software products and enhanced office information system functionalities are developed which fall under the new domain of workflow management technology. It is not a new technology for procedure automation, but takes the formal part of procedure processing applications and combines it with general communication, knowledge management and information sharing facilities. This added value to traditional office automation results from support requirements for cooperative work which have to be considered as explained in the previous chapter. Thus, computer systems have to support, and not necessarily to automate, predictable and formal structures of business processes, as well as coping with unanticipated contingencies, dynamic change and breakdowns, to achieve the final objective of customer satisfaction. On this background, the limitations of procedure processing applications become obvious. The following section discusses these limitations in more detail.