Workflow Automation

Intro

Workflow automation automates a business process so documents, information, or tasks pass between participants per defined rules. It reduces manual effort and errors.

Key points:

• Increases speed, consistency, and visibility.
• Supports compliance with auditable trails.
• Common use cases across EA/BPM/Data/App/Tech include approvals, provisioning, and data synchronization.
• Pitfall: automating broken processes without redesign.

Examples:

• Automated account provisioning from HR events.
• STP for order processing with exception handling.
• Claims routing based on rules and workload.

In practice:

Redesign for simplicity before automation; monitor outcomes and refine rules over time.

Related terms: Workflow; Orchestration Engine; Business Activity Monitoring

FAQs:

Q: Do we need a BPM suite?
A: Not always; choose tooling based on complexity and integration needs.

Q: How to handle exceptions?
A: Use escalation paths, human tasks, and monitoring.

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