Workflow flowchart designer

Until now, the ability to create workflow flowcharts has been the stronghold of experts using professional tools and high-level programming capabilities. In a modern organisation, reducing the development time for a new workflow once a need has been identified can mean the difference between a valuable asset and a no-longer-relevant “white elephant.” The usual forced separation between analysis and development drains time and manpower resources, while making the entire project even more cumbersome.

PNMsoft's workflow software platform is a powerful, flexible web-based tool that enables the business user to define and create workflows, activities, forms, and business rules. The workflow flowchart designer can serve process builders at any and all levels: from rapid construction of new workflows and business processes using wizards by business users, to the creation of complicated applications and integrating .NET components, web services and databases by IT developers.

Displaying workflows in a flowchart format

The workflow flowchart designer displays workflows in a flowchart format, rendering the flow of information in the workflow and the rules for transferring from one step to another more intelligible. Activities (forms, messages, task allocation, external functions etc.) are marked with a square, transfer rules are marked with a diamond, a green arrow marks transfer with a rule, and a red arrow marks transfer without rules. Activities, rules, and routings can be edited and added, advanced properties can be defined, tips and instructions can be edited or added – and all without programming, just Drag, Point & Click.

A single mouse-click launches the user-friendly, interactive workflow wizard, enabling business users to design and implement new workflows, as well as maintain and develop existing workflows. Each workflow is composed of a combination of activities and rules, which can be defined using dedicated wizards launched via the New Workflow Wizard. The workflow flowchart is built step-by-step, displaying user options and selections, so that a graphic representation of the workflow is always displayed and available for modifications. Throughout the workflow-building stages, the system prompts the user by displaying simple explanations.

Tasks, forms and workflow steps

The workflow flowchart designer enables to define tasks, forms and workflow steps. Tasks usually include instructions for an activity such as filling in a form. Each task can have its own schedule, importance, recipients, subject, attachments, and more. The task wizard lets users define dynamic tasks that are affected by specific workflow events: messages can be affected by workflow contents (such as texts in workflow forms), recipients can be determined by contents.

Workflow forms can be designed from scratch, or selected from an assortment of forms created by previous workflow builders (reusable content). A new form can be created by selecting various types of fields and integrating them into the form. Instructions and tips to the users can also be integrated into the form, and tables can be embedded in the form using the Table Wizard. The workflow flowchart enables users to define parameters affecting the formatting and behavior of the form, as well as place fields on the form using Drag & Drop.

Definitions include: default values, hidden fields, blocked fields, field validation, integration of external objects, and more. Various types of fields can be used, including combo-boxes, check-boxes, buttons, text fields, date fields, comments, attachments, hyperlinks, and more. In addition, forms can display single or multiple records. A form can be based on a table from an external database (such as Oracle). The workflow flowchart enables users to display combo-box values from web services, tables from external databases, and system tables. The workflow flowchart also supports combo-boxes with large numbers of values using search/scroll options to add combos, validations, customised controls, the automatic creation of filtered combos and offers options for advanced workflow builders, such as building expressions composed of various fields in the form.

Real-time graphic display of workflow progression

The workflow flowchart designer displays the workflow tree with the various processes, their tasks and steps, all marked with designated icons (forms, tasks, message, etc.). Wherever more then one user participates in a single step, an additional branch for each user is automatically added to the tree. The workflow flowchart uses different colors to mark overdue tasks, tasks performed on-schedule, late but completed tasks. Schedule setbacks are “ballooned” upwards so that the main administrative tree will display potential problems in real-time.

About PNMsoft

PNMsoft was founded in 1996 by experts in human workflow processes and specialises in Business Process Management (BPM) and Workflow Automation solutions for business users. The company is a multi-national enterprise with its headquarters in the UK, the R&D centre in Israel and a global network of business partners and associated offices.

PNMsoft is noted for looking beyond pure software issues, towards concerns such as customisation and fast ROI.
The company has forged close and long-standing partner relationships, particularly with Microsoft, which has appointed it a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner. PNMsoft is also a member of the Microsoft Business Process Alliance.

About SEQUENCE

SEQUENCE is an intuitive BPM software suite based on a graphical flowchart-based platform. It contains powerful options to give users great flexibility in taking an existing business process and converting it from a manual flow to an automated flow.

SEQUENCE provides a full end-to-end BPM solution that includes exploring, modeling, simulation, execution, integration, monitoring and optimization functions. The software interacts with people via Outlook, Windows SharePoint and in other ways. It also interfaces with best-of-breed 3rd party software.

For more about our workflow flowchart, contact us or request our white paper