Workflow Components Features and Functions

• Separate, private copies of the process map for each work-item created in the workflow system or do all work-items in one common shared copy of the process map


• Integrated scripting


• Word processors (such as Word) and spreadsheet (such as Excel) applications from within workflow - attach documents to related points for reference


• Interface with other workflow applications such as e-mail, e-forms and scheduling packages (e-mail can be used to send ticklers to individuals; e-forms can be used for document preparation; scheduling packages can be used to organize call-backs and appointments)


• Ability for an activity or work-item priority be raised dynamically at run-time, according to certain process conditions (e.g., deadlines, completion of related activities)


• Alter the workload balancing mechanism--the algorithm used by the engine to dynamically reassign work--during execution


• Define escalation procedures--reassign or reprioritize work--at run-time which are activated if a deadline or milestone date and time is not met for a specific activity or work-item


• Provides security measures and access at the levels of workflow definitions access, including access to development and modification of the workflow component definitions such as role definitions, activity definitions, rules and routing logic, process map, and work-item definitions


• Provide security measures and access at the levels of system administrator access--special access for maintaining and administering the workflow system


• Provide security measures and access at the levels of queue access--controls participants’ access to the authorized queues


• Provide security measures and access at the levels of process instance and activity access, which allows certain business cases or activities to be viewed and handled by certain participants only


• Provides security measures and access at the levels of form, view, and field access, which allows only certain forms, views, or fields to be seen by certain participants


• Provides security measures and access at the levels of work item access and controls access to specific work-items depending on the participants’ roles and the assigned activity definitions


• Provides security measures and access at the levels of external application access. Controls the participant's ability to invoke and execute specific applications or processes


• Provide features that address unstructured-type collaboration among participants, such as calendaring and group scheduling--provides facilities for planning and carrying out group tasks


• Provides features that address unstructured-type collaboration among participants, such as project management. Provides project planning and control facilities such as those available in project management packages


• Provides features that address unstructured-type collaboration among participants, such as knowledge sharing; includes the ability to allow several participants to share information in centralized knowledge repositories


• Ensures process integrity and robustness through run-time exception handling; deals with unexpected run-time system errors gracefully


• Ensures process integrity and robustness through process and activity checkpoint capabilities: secure specific points from where the process can be restarted if necessary


• Ensures process integrity and robustness through process and activity rollback capabilities: undo activities to get back to a previous, consistent process state


• Ensures process integrity and robustness via two-phase commits by synchronizing internal workflow data commits with an external business and transactional DBMS, which ensures consistency


• Reassign work during execution. Including itemized support where specific work-items assigned to one participant can be reassigned to another


• Reassign work during execution, including comprehensive support where all the work assigned to a participant can be reassigned to another in one move


• Reassign work during execution including dynamic support, where the workflow engine automatically assigns or reassigns work among participants based on process conditions and workload (thresholds), also in the itemized or comprehensive modes