And while you may be unsure about your need for workflow technology, industry leaders like Microsoft and Novell are already maneuvering for your future workflow dollars. In this article, I'll define workflow and show how it could impact your work. We'll finish up by discussing the kinds of tools available for implementing workflow technology. Your PC is a tool for enhancing your personal productivity, just as the other PCs in your organization benefit other workers. But organizations are effective because they are more than just a group of people.
Organizations rely on coordination among workers, and exploit the power of team efforts.
Enhancing this group effort is the purpose of workflow technology. Electronic mail is a primitive form of workflow technology. You could argue that company-wide databases are another form of workflow technology. These sort of tools do support the multi-user aspect of organizations, but don't address coordination and the flow of work projects. Real workflow tools must support the coordination of work among different individuals.