Ask HN: What would business process workflow tools look like in 2016?
By "business process workflows" I'm referring to things like:
- I need to request vacation time, and my supervisor needs to approve it, and the request/approval record needs to be kept
- This contract needs to be reviewed by me, then my division leader, then the law department, then we wait for the other company to sign it, and finally the President signs it
- I need to submit a reimbursement request. A clerk will review it for completion, then pass it on to a financial analyst, who passes it on to....
And we've all seen workflows that have a few caveats (if this person doesn't approve, then this procedure happens) or a single point of failure (someone is out of the office for a week so it doesn't move).
Many software applications have workflow designers built in - some basic, some advanced, but they're often specific to that application. I'm wondering:
a) Do you use a generic workflow tool that you like? b) If you were to design a generic workflow tool today, what would it look like?
1 comment
[ 2.8 ms ] story [ 9.6 ms ] threadIn 2016, there is a new breed of business process tools geared squarely at business users. These look very different from traditional workflow tools (which are based on the BPMN standard.. http://www.bpmn.org/ )
These new tools look more like Asana/Slack rather than a typical BPM tool.
We (TMail21) believe that Business Process Management can and is being revolutionized by adopting lean principles and gearing it firmly at regular workers rather than I.T.
Here's a blog article on the subject https://tmail21.com/blog/rethinking-bpm-based-on-lean-princi... .
We've also written a manifesto called the Lean BPM Manifesto which has taken inspiration from the Lean Principles applied to manufacturing (Kanban), Software Development (Agile) and startups (Lean Startups). https://tmail21.com/lean-bpm-manifesto/
Disclaimer: I'm the CEO of a lean process company, viz. TMail21 (https://tmail21.com)