Let's Manage Centralizing the Expenditure Information, on the Cloud Workflow!

• I'm going to eliminate the waste in work!
• I'm going to smoothen the transferring of data!

Thinking about projects such as 'Paperless' or 'Email replacement', the operation that hits my brain first and foremost is "Sales related operations".

• Approval flow for "Estimate"
• Sharing flow for "Orders Information"
• Progress management for "Product Shipment"

Indeed, improvement of efficiency of those operations would directly lead to "Increase of Sales". Moreover, the improvement cycle would also be shortened because 'Issues' will be flowed almost every day.

However, for organizations that (a) experience of drawing Business flow diagram is poor and, (b) not got used to BPMS tool,,, there will be a high risk of being stuck up with such as;

• Range of Business Process definition is too large
• Business data items are too many
• Configuration of Split condition is too fine
• Lack of unification on Cautionary statements on Input form

when trying to use a "Business Process Management (BPM) tool" for (1) Defining business flows and, (2) transferring business data, actually.


It is one of the best moves that to specify the business, which is closed to internal company and with a smaller number of steps, as a pilot project, if you wanted to proceed your business process management activities (BPM activities) steadily. The following "Business Process definition" is a flow of "Expense Report (External Payment Request)", with fewer Steps. It is very significant in terms of internal control and mutual supervision, when you stop using e-mail and verbal to communicate, and let the issue data flowing through the Business Process Management system. In addition, the aggregate data will also be a very valuable business data.

[External Payment Request (except Payments made on behalf, Credit card settlement)]

Setting the Title of Issues with Auto-processing Script

"Non-programming"... It is still a hot keyword in the industry of Business System, as ever.

• A. No need of programming knowledge
• B. Need programming knowledge

What I mean is not using programming languages such as Java or Python or Ruby, however, there are needs for building an IT environment that is innovative and suits themselves.

It may be a rough parable, but it is like an argument over "A. should wear the clothes off-the-shelf with altering?" or "B. should make fully made-to-order clothes?". There are advantages and disadvantages to both methods, and the method to be adopted is different depending on the IT the environment to be demanded, and the skill of the operator.

Now, in the following Business Process definition, a Step called [Script Task] that is using the programming knowledge, is built into.

While the flow of the entire business is expressed with "A. Standard processing icon", "B. Processing of its own" is incorporated into a part of the steps. Actually, it is merely making the previous coverage, "Upstream Process of Entering the Client Name, the Template" into a black-box by [Script Task]. That is, the processing of the data is completely the same.

[Upstream flow Order-Delivery-Billing (Script Task)]

Upstream Process of Entering the Client Name, the Template

Records of daily work... By a few devising, it may change the value of them greatly. For example, you can realize a variety of "Data Utilization", if you could realize;

• no fluctuation in the notation of the client's name
• precise indication of client's name in the title of Issues

throughout all the Workflow records.

E.g. You can easily search for the records of the past. (Search for specific Issues)
E.g. You can aggregate the total number of times that all sales people visited a particular major company. (Aggregation closed to a Business)
E.g. You can analyze the period and the transition of the communication that began with "Brochure Request" and lead to "submitting estimates". (Cross operational aggregation)

Furthermore, normal activities also might change. For example, rather than advocating OJT blindly, it might help better rookie training just to look at the actual business records. Rather than discussing with experienced staffs, it might help getting the idea of business strategy by looking at actual business records.

In the following Business Process definition, only the upstream Step in which client's name is input actually, is described. It is so to call a Template. You can create various Business Process definitions easily by adding the downstream Steps, such as "Business Visit Report" or " Responding Brochure Request".

[Order-Delivery-Billing flow (Upstream)]

Cases that Business Data Altering is Inevitable

1. Information which may threaten the life and property of a person.
2. Personal information that is not necessary to be stored as business records.
3. Descriptions which may violate the laws and regulations, such as crime notice.
4. Description that is immoral such as indecent or obscene.

What should you do if information like above has been contained in the business data?

Although I do not want to think too much, but it's the same old story in some business, that there are Business flows which have been increased anonymity, such as "Suggestion box flow" or "whistle-blowing handling". Here, we are going to study about 'Data edit' by the privileged Users.

First of all, business data is a subject to be edited over and over, being checked by the approver or being corrected through reworking Step, until it finally reaches to the last Step. By the time the Issue reaches the [End Event], business data will be finished as a record of the company. And after that, nobody would alter.
The specification that even a privileged user cannot alter this data after completed, is applied in many Workflow products, (as well as Cloud-based workflow Questetra). Suppose if it is possible to edit later, it will be a system that allows tampering data, and there will be a problem in perspectives of "reliability of data" or "audit trail"(compliance). If you found any error in the data of the past, you should restart as a new Issue through the appropriate procedures. ([Delete] the original data, If it gives noise on aggregation)

The following Workflow is a business operation which, automatically taking in "Google Alert" (or "Analytics Alert", etc.), detecting information new content on the Internet, and taking necessary reactions. Because the information is collected mechanically, most of them will be finished with selecting 'Do not share this information'. However, there are also Issues which would include the data that should be [Data Edit] among them. In this example, it is given a postponement that can be [data editing] for privileged users. Although it is a very sober consideration, but it's excellent.

[Internet Surveillance Operation]