Managing Personal ToDo List in BPMS

Many people have their own personal ToDo list. A "ToDo list (Tasks)" function is available next to "Contacts" in the Gmail menu, and there is a "ToDo List (Tasks)" in Google Calendars as well. This is sometimes called a Worklist.

Today we'll introduce a way to manage the stuff on your own ToDo list in a BPMS workflow. That way you can manage it with all of your other workflow tasks, and you can do all sorts of things that simple ToDo lists cannot offer: handle deadlines, record work progress, attach reference files, share with colleagues, etc.

A Workflow for Managing Office Equipment Rentals

Many companies have a stockpile of cell phones, handy terminals, multifunction machines, sensors and other devices that employees and clients can rent when necessary. Sometimes it gets where administrative staff feel like they work in a library, but this is a pretty important service that employees will want to utilize.

When there are relatively few devices available you can manage reservations with a calendar application, but this doesn't allow the option of managing returns.

A Workflow for a One-Man-Operated Consultation Service

It's unusual to want a one-man business process divided into multiple tasks. These can usually be managed by the star feature in email applications. Only when handling processes that include three or four steps (thus are difficult to manage with the on/off star feature) is it convenient to use a workflow system.

Today's sample is a case where one person is in charge of operating a consultation service.

The incoming data includes "name, email address, phone number, inquiry," and the final output is the "reply" by email. For special cases the consultant may want to follow-up with a phone call. Some inquiries may be dealt with immediately (1. Confirm Inquiry (& reply) –> End), while some may take a while, thus require priority and deadline settings (1. Confirm Inquiry –> 2. Write Reply –> 3. Follow-up –> End).