Workflow V.S. Automation

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這是一家UC4公司所提供的資料，內容為說明Workflow和Automation的不同。

What is Workflow?
Task、Rule、Work process。a series of tasks make up a workflow process.

Workflow is the tasks, procedural steps, organizations or people involved, required input and output information,and tools needed for each step in a business process. The NPD Group defines workflow as the “automation of abusiness process, in whole or part, during which documents, information or tasks are passed from one participantto another for action, according to a set of procedural rules.”

The two key points to both these definitions are:
- the inclusion of “people” or “participants” taking “actions”
- the “passing” of actions or tasks (according to procedural rules) between “participants”

Further, workflow automation products allow a company to create a workflow model and components such asonline forms and then use this to manage and enforce the consistent handling of work. For example, aninsurance company could use a workflow automation application to ensure that a claim was handled consistentlyfrom initial call to final settlement. The workflow application would ensure that each person handling the claimused the correct online form and successfully completed their step before allowing the process to proceed to thenext person and procedural step. Other examples might include approval of a credit memo or approval of arequisition. Each example includes an “action” or task being carried out manually by one “participant” beforebeing passed on to the next.

What is Automation?
Job、Business process、job stream、a series of jobs make up an automated process.

According to Merriam-Webster, “automation” is defined generally as: The technique of making a process or asystem operate automatically through the use of devices that take the place of human observation, effort, anddecision.

Alternatively, “automation” can be defined as: The technique of making a manual process automatic byeliminating human effort and intervention.

By either definition, complete automation of a process would eliminate any human intervention in the steps ofthe process as well as the hand offs between steps.

What are Workflow Tools?

Workflow tools facilitate the design and implementation of workflows. They usually include a graphic tool fordrawing a workflow using icons that represent steps in a business process. They also include a workflow enginethat drives the workflow, presenting documents or information to participants in the work process in the correctorder. Workflow tools can launch programs and applications, but generally rely on actions by the humanparticipants to trigger movement from one step in the process to the next.

One example of a workflow tool is Oracle Workflow. In an Oracle paper titled Oracle Workflow: Business ProcessManagement for Your Enterprise, Oracle presents the following diagram as an example of a workflow diagram.Notice the emphasis on the approver and approval steps. This workflow most definitely requires significanthuman intervention.

What are Application Automation Tools?

Application automation tools, often known generically as job schedulers, facilitate complete automation ofbusiness processes. The scheduling component makes it possible to automatically launch business processes onspecific days at specific times. The business process can, and often does, consist of many applications servingmany different areas of an enterprise.

True automation tools should make it possible to add dependencies (e.g.: run Job B only after Job A completes),and “if-then” logic that takes the place of an operator checking the state of the system. For example, anautomation tool should be able to check for the existence of specific files. With a sophisticated automation tool,you should be able to completely automate a business process, eliminating all human intervention except fortroubleshooting.

A typical business process that can be automated is shown in the diagram below. It represents a datawarehousing operation. Notice the distinct lack of human intervention.

How are Workflow and Application Automation Different?

Workflow is focused on managing work processes that consist of, at least in part, tasks performed by humans.These tasks can be thought of as “must be” manual tasks, meaning the task is inherently manual (e.g. signing adocument) or the business requires the task to be manual (e.g. approval of a credit memo or requisition).Procedural rules dictate how each manual task is passed to the next person for action. The bottom line isworkflow assumes and, in fact, requires manual intervention throughout a work process.

Since these “must be manual” tasks cannot, by definition, be fully automated, workflow tools focus on improvingthe overall work process by adding rules and notifications between tasks. From a true automation perspective,the overall work process can be streamlined, but the human component is never eliminated, and the process isnever fully automated.

In contrast, application automation automates business processes that consist of various application jobsconnected together with dependency logic. The automation tool runs the jobs and the dependency logic isenforced without any human intervention. The bottom line is automation assumes no manual intervention, andactively works to remove manual intervention throughout a business process.


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