Glossary -- CMS Watch

Glossary Term:

Workflow

Workflow as it applies to content describes the process of breaking down a high-level task into a series of orderly, pre-defined steps that answer these questions:

What needs to be done?
Who needs to do it?
Who needs to approve it?
When must it be completed?

There are two general types of workflow: Approval and task.

A task-oriented workflow centers on the tasks that must be done by different resources, or people, to complete the task. For example, the graphic designer completes graphics production, the HTML producer creates the template using those graphics, and the editor produces pages based on that template.

An approval-centered workflow tracks the approval chain of command on a piece of content, no matter what the form – from a press release to a video clip of a speech. For example, the PR Director, the Legal Department and the President must approve all press releases. These people are all "approvers" in this context.

These two types of workflow can mingle at some point, creating the need for a more complex workflow and some additional cost for product customization.

Find out more about workflow as it applies to more than just content. The Workflow Management Coalition (http://www.wfmc.org/) works closely with the Workflow and Reengineering International Association (http://www.waria.com/) to set standards in workflow and its automation.

"e-workflow, the workflow portal" (http://www.e-workflow.org/) is sponsored by the above organizations and provides information about the evolution of workflow, the product arena, news about the industry, white papers and handy definitions of workflow terminology.