Managing Documents Within Workflow-based Business Processes

Workflow relates to automating a business process

, managing the relevant tasks and tracking documents and data passed on from one participant to another in conformation to a basic set of procedures or rules. Workflow solutions are used for defining, managing and implementing these workflows through the use of software applications. These solutions are able to work with the different participants within the process and make use of a range of IT applications and tools.

Workflow management systems control the flow of work as per a predefined process definition. These systems help to manage diverse resources, such as people, applications and data, to meet the organisational goals and to extend control and monitoring facilities within the business. The complete elimination of paper based processes such as manual archiving, retrieval and copying, as well as their distribution across the length and breadth of the organisation, is a strong point in favour of the adoption of a workflow management system. Crucial information pertaining to business operations is instantly available thus providing the management with the scope to respond promptly to problems or critical events.

The workflow process comprises of a couple of important steps such as the retrieval of, and access to, pertinent customer and business information. Such a system is used in many types of business processes, such as account opening, to accomplish these activities more efficiently. The retrieval system will present the right documents and data to the user at the right time in order that the next task can be completed or decision made.

Presenting the correct document is an important aspect of a workflow management system in order to control who accesses what information and when. A proper workflow system will enable easy access to documents for personnel who are authorised to view them, whether they are accessed over the Internet, or on a PC at the office or even at different branch offices. The retrieval process comprises of a number of steps.

After the documents have been fed into the system and subsequently indexed, users should be able to access any relevant document in the most logical way. In some cases, the retrieval is performed using the text contained within the document and on other occasions it might be based on index fields or document folder information. In the case of document retrieval, a quality indexing system is essential. The system will present the relevant document that is to be acted upon and will allow users to search for associated information in order to complete the action using the best information to hand.

Similarly the use of the folder or the document name can also help to find the associated documents very easily. Over time, with more and more documents being populated into the imaging system, the structure of the archive may need to be amended to incorporate a more complex foldering system. The same is applicable in the case of index field information. A fully featured imaging system makes use of user-definable template fields. Index field searches enables a user to easily search through millions of records within seconds.

Setting the appropriate access rights to the system is also a crucial decision when it comes to a document management system. It must provide users access to those who need it without compromising on security. In order to provide the right level of access to users, the system must correctly balance some fundamental features including comprehensive security and broad availability.

by: Steven Hayes

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