I think one of the bigger problems with becoming a software behemoth is that the billions of dollars you spend on R&D spawn lots of pieces that do not get a lot of press. Such is the case with Microsoft’s Workflow Foundation.

If you are not familiar with the concept of electronic workflow, here is a simple primer. It is the capability of taking a process that is now done by hand and on paper and putting it on computers in a paperless environment. Then going further by building in rules and controls to automate some of the processes so that decision, tasks or routing that had been done by humans is now done by the software. There is nothing new about workflow systems, we have had them for years. Many content management software companies have workflow components, or outright ad hoc workflow platforms that allow a user to assemble any type of custom workflow they can imagine, built in directly to the platform.  The interesting thing here is that Microsoft has slowly built in this capability to Sharepoint, Office 2007, CRM 3.0 and higher, and now some of their Dynamics accounting systems. With the hooks put into these systems, any sized operation can now assemble electronic workflows to replace processes now done on paper and by hand. Well… if someone at the organization is smart enough to learn how to assemble the system. Oh… and you have to be smart enough to view your processes with an eye towards building an electronic workflow. This is easier said than done.

My experience is that people are normally so steeped in their traditional ways of doing things that they struggle with how processes can be reengineered. In fact, it takes a new skill set to be able to map an old process and retool it into a new electronic process. This is a skill organizations need to gain immediately and put to use because now that the tools are available, the smarter, faster organizations will take big steps forward by implementing workflow.

To make this even more enticing, think about the concept of White Collar Lean. This is a frame of mind that was constructed following the success of the Lean Manufacturing paradigm pioneered decades ago by Toyota. Once one can combine Lean Thinking with electronic workflow as a tool, magic things can happen in lowering back office costs and raising productivity. I promise you this, computer based workflow as a tool is a game changer and sadly, it is a bit lost in the shuffle of new tools these days. If you are reading this and have no idea what I am talking about, go to the Quask.com website and look at their products. I am not so much endorsing this products as just giving you a place to go learn how workflow can be applied simply…

Scott

Cool Website of the day is: builtwith.com – This site evaluates your Website as to the tools you are using and scores it on the Web 2.0 sophistication level. TechnologyStory.com got a 4 out of 5 by the way…