Workflows: The basics

- [Voiceover] So, what's a workflow?…In your organization or mine,…a workflow is a process that proceeds…from one activity to the next, to the next,…until it's complete.…So, in this example, perhaps we have a phone call…with a customer.…And after we take the phone call,…someone fills out an order form.…That order form is then sent…to a supervisor who determines…whether a group of people need…to work on it, or whether it can simply…be filed and then acknowledged…with an e-mail or a letter back.…In this particular workflow,…there are two different branches:…one that requires a little more human effort,…and one that doesn't.…

But this same workflow could just as easily…be a vacation request.…I'm applying for a vacation.…So, I fill out the form.…I give it to my supervisor.…My supervisor can approve it…and pass it along to H.R. and I get a e-mail back…that says "Hey, have a great vacation".…Or, perhaps my supervisor doesn't have the authority…and needs to send it to somebody else,…perhaps their manager to sign off on it…