Preface

Table of Contents

About Workflow
Why Should a Business Use Workflow ?
The Key Benefits
Open source
Commercial Support
Why read this book ?
This book's audience
Organization of this book
Request for Comments
Acknowledgements
About the Authors
Together Teamsolutions Co., Ltd
Enhydra
JaWE
WfMC - The Workflow Management Coalition
JGraph
Docbook

Together Workflow Editor is a visual tool for creating, managing and reviewing process definitions stored in WfMC XPDL syntax, using BPMN graphical notation.

Put simple, Together Workflow Editor allows you to quickly create or view XPDL workflow definition files, check and store them for the further use. Once a definition is proven valid, it can be referenced by new definitions, thus shortening the time and effort needed to define workflow processes or imported into workflow engines capable of XPDL for execution.

About Workflow

From the Workflow Management Coalition website:

Why Should a Business Use Workflow ?

The Evolution of Workflow Workflow Management consists of the automation of business procedures or "workflows" during which documents, information or tasks are passed from one participant to another in a way that is governed by rules or procedures. Workflow software products, like other software technologies, have evolved from diverse origins. While some offerings have been developed as pure workflow software, many have evolved from image management systems, document management systems, relational or object database systems, and electronic mail systems.

The Key Benefits

  • Improved efficiency - automation of many business processes results in the elimination of many unnecessary steps

  • Better process control - improved management of business processes achieved through standardizing working methods and the availability of audit trails

  • Improved customer service - consistency in the processes leads to greater predictability in levels of response to customers

  • Flexibility - software control over processes enables their re-design in line with changing business needs

  • Business process improvement - focus on business processes leads to their streamlining and simplification