Workflow is a group tool in that it requires the participation of a group of people in a company. But it is particularly geared toward administrative processing of an external event, from the moment it comes to the attention of the company until its processing is completed. Workflow applications are designed to know which tasks and procedures to apply to the cases they are designed to process. They break a case down into separate tasks and assign each one to a particular user, or participant , according to the management procedures in effect at the time.

The introduction of workflow constitutes a decisive change in the way information technology contributes to business, because the software looks at procedures as a whole, including monitoring of the procedure, assignment of tasks, processing of exceptions and keeping track of time limits, all the while recording data that facilitate the analysis of costs, workloads and quality so vital to an industrial approach to information processing. Workflow applications are generally linked to electronic document management applications, and they can bring about productivity gains of 20 to 50 per cent in the tasks they automate, and a 30 to 90 per cent reduction in delays.

Security

For each participant, access is limited to a set of procedures and activities, in keeping with the roles he or she plays.

Thirty to 90 per cent savings on total processing time.

Progress reports

Immediate access to information on the status of a case, the task in progress and the person responsible for the task.

Task planning and task assignment: five to 10 per cent savings.
Savings related to responses to case status inquiries: five to 10 per cent.
Savings related to immediate access to data concerning the case, and to automated access to tools: 10 to 30 per cent.
Total savings: 20 to 50 per cent.