Patent ID: 8086687

Claim:
A workflow executing apparatus for executing processing in accordance with a workflow that includes a plurality of processing steps, the apparatus comprising: a transmission control unit; and an e-mail transmission unit configured to create and transmit a particular workflow status e-mail, during processing of the workflow and in response to an instruction from the transmission control unit, the e-mail transmission unit being configured to transmit the particular workflow status e-mail to a device used by a user that requested the workflow be executed, the workflow being executed in accordance with workflow information in which content of processing of the plurality of processing steps is described, wherein the e-mail transmission unit is configured to create the particular workflow status e-mail at least by adding (a) identification information from a Message-Id header field of a previous workflow status e-mail created and transmitted by the e-mail transmission unit to (b) a References header field of the particular workflow status e-mail being created, even though the particular workflow status e-mail being created normally would not have (a) added to (b), so that the previous workflow status e-mail and the particular workflow status e-mail being created consequently are configured to be displayed by the device used by the user as an e-mail thread, and wherein said units include at least physical hardware components of the workflow executing apparatus.