Contemporary Application of Workflow Management Systems in Project Management - Term Paper Example

Workflow Management System Name Tutor Course Date Table of Contents Workflow Management System 2 Introduction 5 History of Contemporary Application of Workflow Management Systems in Project/Portfolio Management 6 Pros and cons 8 Pros 8 Cons 10 Market analysis for History of Contemporary Application of Workflow Management Systems in Project /Portfolio Management 11 Main suppliers’ systems 11 Strengths and weaknesses 12 Comparison UAE and International Level 13 Trends, perspectives and recommendations 15 Conclusion 16 Workflow Management System Abbreviations WMS: Workflow management system UAE: United Arab Emirates IT: Information technology CS: Customer satisfaction Definitions Automata: Plural form of automation and it means self-operating Bottleneck: A stage that causes the entire operations to slow down. Software: Computer programs used to run the computers Portfolio: A group of financial assets and investments owned by an organization. Standardization: Implementing guidelines rules and specifications for repeated use. Summary Workflow management system is a concept that involves the use of computers for the purposes of managing the operations of a company. The history of the workflow management system can be traced back from the twentieth century when the work management concepts were developed. However, the concepts were fully developed after the introduction of computers and software. The system has advantages and disadvantages in terms of its applications. The major pro of the system is its ability to make the work easier through the use of the technology. The management of cash-flow activities as well as operations is enhanced through the use of the concept. It is also possible to detect the bottlenecks within the process through the use of the system. However, the major con is the high maintenance and upgrading cost that is involved. The main suppliers have been making improvements to the system and hence the changes in the system. The main strength of the changes is the ability of the system to fulfill the requirements of the client in the face of technological changes. However its weakness is the inconvenience that it costs clients as they have to purchase new versions. In comparison with the international standards, the UAE is still below the international standards. This is due to the low levels of technology in the country as compared to the international levels. However some companies and government departments have adopted the system. According to the trends in the use of the system, it is evident that it has a bright future both internationally ad in the UAE. It is also recommended that the companies should invest in the information technology infrastructure so as to utilize the system Introduction The workflow management system (WMS) is software that offers a platform to setup, implement and closely observe scientific workflows. Procedures are used to monitor and establish the processes involved for the purpose of ensuring that the workflow is well managed. The automation of services due to the technological advancements is increasingly becoming common. This has made the workflow management easier for most of the organizations. The main aim of managing the workflow is to ensure that the efficiency of the business is improved. The improvement of the efficiency of the organization is important in terms of enhancing the service provision within the organization. The automation for the services has greatly contributed to the accountability of the procedures within the organization. The elimination of unnecessary steps is also one of the aims of the workflow management (Krefting, et al, 680). This is because it creates a constant pattern that has to be followed by the employees when carrying out their operations. The use of constant patterns enables the organization to easily trace the source of any errors or mistake within the workflow. The performance of the employees and the machines can be tracked through the use of the workflow management systems. Workflow management makes the process of tracing the errors easily managed. Most organizations have been able to standardize their operations through the workflow management. The standardization of the workflow plays an important role in creating a chain that is used to monitor the workflow. The management of the customer is also one of the reasons as to why the organizations engage in the workflow management. This is because it ensures that the customers are able to receive the required services on time. The consistency of the products produced by an organization is also achieved through the workflow management process. Customer satisfaction always results to profits for the organization. This is due to the increase in the number of customers that associates with organizations that takes care of their needs. The operation of each employee is streamlined through the allocation of responsibilities. The management of the workflow is an important aspect for most of the organization and technology has greatly enhanced the process. The issues of software are also common for most of the organization. The paper discusses the concepts of workflow management and its application in project management. History of Contemporary Application of Workflow Management Systems in Project/Portfolio Management The modern concepts of workflow management were first developed in the 1980s by the software companies. This was for the purpose of automating the services of the company so as to satisfy the customers. However, the manufacturing companies led to the popularity and development of the workflow management systems in the projects during the twentieth century. The manufacturing companies were able to achieve this through the breakdown of processes within the company. This was for the purpose of ensuring that each of the process can be accounted for during manufacturing. The concepts later started developing after the discovery of modern equipment of operations. In the early 1980s, the pioneers of the workflow management classified man as simple automata. This drew criticism from most of the people. However, the idea of the concept was that man could be organized to perform tasks in a specific way and hence ensuring that the work is streamlined. The emphasis on the quality of products and services however led to the changes in the concepts of operations for most of the organizations. Most of the companies realized that the customers value more the quality of the goods and services. This led to the ideas of ensuring that the quality of the goods and services are improved. This was however difficult to achieve without tracing the production process and the flow of information in the organization. The need for customer satisfaction therefore led to the development of the workflow management concepts (Islam, 12). The re-engineering of the business processes also provided an import ant insight about the effects that the workflow has on the quality of the products. The changing nature of the demands for the goods and services also contributed to the change in the operations of the companies. The increase in bottle necks for most of the companies also meant that the business operations had to undergo changes in order to deal with the bottlenecks. The bottlenecks were responsible for the delays in the business processes and hence impacting negatively on the CS and operations of the businesses. It is through this operation that the companies were able to determine that the flow of information within an organization plays an important role in the customer satisfaction process. On the other hand, information is always required for the purpose of enhancing the operations of a company. The increase in demand for goods and services also changed the methods of operations of companies and hence leading to the workflow management systems. The advancement in technology also created an opportunity for the development of the workflow management system. The increased usage of computers in most of the companies became useful in the management of the flow of information. This in turn led to the automation of processes with the organization. The concepts of the modern workflow management systems were then developed and adopted by most of the companies. Currently, the workflow management system has widely been adopted and it has positively impacted on most of the companies. System Flow Diagram for Workflow Management Pros and cons Pros The use of workflow management system is an important concept in terms of ensuring that the operations of the company are made easy. Through the use of the workflow management it is possible for a company to centralize invoices and hence ensuring that the company operates easily. The use of the workflow management system allows an organization to manage receipts and instant messaging. This is important in terms of managing the information of the company. Electronic worksheets can also be utilized through the use of the workflow management system. This is thus important in terms of making the operations of the company easier. The cash flow management is an important issue in the operations of a company. The process is tedious and it requires a lot of accuracy. Through the use of the workflow management system, the company is able to easily manage the cash flow. The elimination of errors in the cash flow management is important in terms of enhancing the book keeping process. The process of payment is also enhanced through the use of the workflow management. This is because it enables the employees to make transactions directly from the field. This means that the customers do not have to visit the head office of the company for the purpose of making payments. The concepts allow the use of electronic signatures. The use of workflow management is thus important in terms of ensuring that the financial as well as administrative duties are carried out efficiently (Chen, et al, 14). The workflow management system is also important in terms of monitoring the operations of the employees working in the field. This is because the system monitors all the operations going on in the field. Since each of the employees is usually allocated a specific task, the stem is able to detect the collapse of any task and hence identifying the responsible employee. It is thus evident that the workflow management system plays an important role in terms of detecting errors in the workflow. The automation of the services is also important t in terms of eliminating bottlenecks within the organization. Through the use of the system, it is possible to know where the problem has occurred and hence solving it. This is also considering that bottlenecks have negative impacts on the operations of the company. It leads to losses as it reduces the pace of the production process. The workflow management is thus important in terms of enhancing the operations of the company. Through the use of the system, it is possible to enhance operations of the company by eliminating the repetitive process that leads to the inefficiency of the company. On the other hand, the use of the system also plays an important role in automating the services within the company. Automation of services ensures that the heavy manual work is eliminates within the organization. The rate of doing work is also enhanced through the use of system and hence improving the prospects of the company. Cons Despite the advantage that the system has, it also has a few cons. One of the cons is the frequent maintenance that the system requires. During the maintenance and the upgrading of the system, the services have to be interrupted. This means that the company using the system may face days of closure due to the maintenance and upgrading of the system. It therefore leads to loses for a company on the particular day that maintenance and up grading has to be done. This has a negative impact on the company in terms of profits as well as the customers. This is because the customers will not be able to access the services of the company during the maintenance period. This is quite inconvenient to the customers who require the services of the company during the particular period. Setting up of the infrastructure for the system is quite costly to an organization. The high cost therefore discourages most of the small sized and medium sized companies from engaging in the system. The maintenance of the system is also quite expensive and thus limiting its use to the companies that are financially stable. The cons are thus serious and had the potential of affecting the operations of the company. The cost implication of the system is also high and hence limiting the use of the system. It is thus important to note that the use of the system is limited to only a few organizations with enough finances. The use of the system requires experts for the purpose of maintenance and operation. This means that the company has to employ the experts. In most cases, the experts require a high salary as well as remunerations. This means that the company has to spend more on the salaries which has a negative impact on the revenues of the company. The employees of the company also have to undergo training concerning the use of the system. This has cost implications as the training may take weeks before the employees are fully familiar with the concepts of the system. Although the training has positive outcome for the employees, it has a negative impact on the revenue of the company. The company may also be required to restructure its operational methods so as to accommodate the use of the system. This also has a lot of cost implications for the company. In some countries, the automation of some of the services may impact negatively on the customers. This is because the use of modern technological concepts is still new and most people are not able to use it. This means that the customers may end up being inconvenienced by facing difficulties in the access of services. It is thus evident that the major con in the use of the system in terms of the cost. However, it is evident that the pros outweigh the cons of the use of the system. The cons can however impact negatively on the operations of the business. Market analysis for History of Contemporary Application of Workflow Management Systems in Project /Portfolio Management Main suppliers’ systems The system has undergone a lot of changes for the purpose of meeting the demands of the customers. However, due to the patent issues, the main supplier has been responsible for the changes made. The current version is quite reliable and it is able to meet the demands of the customers. The main suppliers have ensured that the input descriptions are in line with the current technological trends. The main suppliers always invest more on the materials and energy for the purpose of dealing with the input description. The rules are usually established by the main supplier and hence its ability to meet the demands of the suppliers. The rules have also been changed in most of the versions by the suppliers. This is for the purpose of ensuring that the rules are in line with the requirements of the clients. This has played an important role in ensuring that the use of the system is beneficial to the clients. The main supplier also ensures that the system is well monitored for the purpose of ensuring that the companies benefits. The output of the system has also been enhanced by the main supplier for the purpose of increasing the efficiency of the system. The components of the workflow have thus been modified by the main supplier for the purpose of benefiting the clients. This is important in terms of improving the quality of the output of the system. Strengths and weaknesses Strengths The main strength of the main suppliers in the system is that it has increased the efficiency of the system. The modifications have enabled the clients to use the system in response to the changes in technological concepts. It is possible for the clients to use the system easily through the modifications that has been done by the main supplier. The output of the system has also been enhanced through the use of the modifications by the supplier. This has led to the increase in the speed of using the system. The output of a system determines the efficiency of the whole system. It is thus evident that the main supplier has enhanced the operational use of the system. Weaknesses The modifications by the supplier also have some weaknesses. One of the main weaknesses is the negative impacts that it has had on the client. This is because the system has to undergo changes when the modifications are made. This means that the company using the old system has to purchase the new system. It impacts negatively on the cost of the purchase by the company clients. This is also considering that the technological changes occur from time to time and hence inconveniencing the companies. The main supplier has also been unable to fully modify the system to comply with the requirements of the clients. The cost of the new versions of the software is also high after modifications are done. It is thus evident that the actions of the main supplier have both strengths and weaknesses. Comparison UAE and International Level In the United Arab Emirates, the use of the workflow management system is low as compared to the international level. This is due to level of technology use in the United Arab Emirates as compared to the international level. Most of the people are not conversant with the use of the modern technology in the country. This is because the emphasis on the science and technology is still low in the country. The education system does not emphasize on the issues of technology and hence the few number of people embracing the modern technology. However, some of the organizations have successfully embraced the use of the workflow management system. The major companies in the country have successfully embraced the use of this system and it has proved to be successful. However, despite the use of the technology, some challenges have been encountered by the companies. Most of the clients have been impacted negatively as they do not understand the technological concepts. On the other hand, the training of the employees on the technological concepts so as to equip them with the knowledge of workflow management system has also proofed difficult. This is because it takes a lot of time for most of the employees to understand the concepts. This is quite different from the other countries in the world where technology use is part of life. It is thus evident that the low technological use has impacted negatively on the adoption of the workflow management system. The multinationals in the United Arab Emirates have also been impacted negatively in terms of adopting the workflow management system. This is because of the low number of experts in the field. The companies are thus forced to hire the services of the expatriates. High costs are usually encountered by the multinationals in terms of training the employees as well as hiring the expatriates. However, as compared to other countries, the number of experts in the field of information technology is usually high and thus enhancing the process. It is also important to note that the society in the United Arabs Emirates has been slow in terms of embracing the concepts of modern technology. However, progress is being made with the current generation. The situation is thus improving as the number of companies using the system is increasing on each year. Some of the government departments and agencies have also adopted the use of the information technology and hence adopting the workflow management system. Despite the challenges, the companies have registered positive results due to their adoption of the workflow management systems. The workflow management system has promoted efficiency in the United Arab Emirates among the companies that have adopted it. The level of use of the workflow management system is thus low in the United Arab Emirates as compared to the international level. It is thus evident that the use of technological concepts is dependant of the levels of information technology in the country and among the people (Sadiq, et al, 57). Trends, perspectives and recommendations The use of the workflow management system is gaining a lot of support in most parts of the world. The first companies to adopt the use of the system were the large companies and the major multinationals. This was due to the cost implications of implementing the system. However, with the technological advancement, most of the companies have implemented the system. This is because the costs have reduced. Most of the main suppliers have also been modifying the systems for the purpose of ensuring that it meets the modern requirements. The software used has thus undergone several modifications. The modifications are continuous and are set to continue in future. This is because it serves to address the challenges at the time. In the United Arab Emirates, the technological trends are the main factor that guides the adoption of the workflow management system. The rate of technological advancement in a country is also a major factor in most parts of the world. In countries where the technology has advanced, most of the companies use the workflow management system in their operations. Different perspectives have also been drawn concerning the use of the system. However, most of the perspectives are positive and have praised the system for the positive impacts that it has had on the development of organizations. The future of the workflow management system is thus bright due to the support that it has win among the people. It is recommended that the organizations invest in the information technology infrastructure for the purpose of ensuring that it benefits from the workflow management system. This should be done with the involvement of the experts. It is also important for the companies to ensure that their employees are trained in the information technology sector. This is because the knowledge of information technology is important in terms of enhancing the concepts of the workflow management system. It is also recommended that the companies should involve the services of the experts in order to fully implement the system. The suppliers should consider making changes can withstand the demands of the clients for a long period of time. This is for the purpose of ensuring that the clients are not inconvenienced. The frequent changes in the software should be avoided through the efficiency of the main manufacturers. It is also important to ensure that the price of the software is reduced to ensure that the small companies are able to utilize the system. The stakeholders in the United Arab Emirates should also ensure that the technological concepts are enhanced. This will play an active role in the development and adoption of the workflow management system. Conclusion In conclusion, it is evident that the workflow management system has a lot of benefits for an organization. The concepts were developed after a long period of time. This is due to the advancement in the level of technology. The rise of IT greatly contributed to the development of the workflow management system. The use of the system is advantageous to an organization in terms of enhancing efficiency within an organization. The management of the cash flow is one of the important concepts of the system. This ensures that the company is able to be accountable in terms of handling its financial issues. It is also evident that the use of the system enables an organization to deal with bottlenecks which reduces the efficiency of the company. The management of the work done by the employees is also one of the important concepts that the use of the system enhances. It is also evident that the use of the workflow management system has led to positive results for the organizations that have used it. The use of the system is also gaining a lot of popularity among most of the organizations. It is also evident that the use of the system is dependent on the level of technology among the employees. It is worth noting that the use of the system has several disadvantages to a company. The maintenance is costly and it requires a lot of finances for it to be implemented due to its frequency. The upgrading of the system is also costly as it requires the company to suspend its operations. This is not only inconvenient to the customers but also to the company. It is also important to note that the cost implications for setting up the infrastructure are high. This has negative impacts on the small and medium sized companies. In the United Arab Emirates, the concept of the system has not been widely adopted. This is due to the level of information technology in the country. However, the rate of adoption of the system is increasing in the country. This is after its introduction in the government departments and some major companies in the country. The level of use of the system is however low in the United Arab Emirates as compared to the international level. The use of the system is however improving in most parts of the world. It is thus evident that the advantage of using the system outweighs the few disadvantages. References Krefting, Dagmar, et al. "Simplified implementation of medical image processing algorithms into a grid using a workflow management system." Future Generation Computer Systems 26.4 (2010): 681-684. Islam, Mohammad, et al. "Oozie: towards a scalable workflow management system for Hadoop." Proceedings of the 1st ACM SIGMOD Workshop on Scalable Workflow Execution Engines and Technologies. ACM, 2012. Chen, Huei-Huang, et al. "An Overview of Workflow Management System Structure in the Supply Chain." Australian Journal of Business and Management Research Vol 2.04 (2012): 12-19. Sadiq, Shazia, et al. "System and method of flexible workflow management." U.S. Patent No. 7,885,840. 8 Feb. 2011. Read More