Solutions Blog

Process
The new employee integration process for companies of all sizes can be a complex task. Different departments need to interact, numerous accesses need to be granted, office supplies have to be ordered, etc.
By using WorkflowGen you can significantly improve the efficiency and reduce the complexity of this process.
 
When a new employee is hired, the Hiring Manager will initially fill out a form containing the new employees’ information as well as the various requirements from the different departments.
 
Each department for which requirements have been requested will automatically receive a checklist to complete.
 
They have the option to save the information entered in the form and come back to it at a later time. This is extremely useful in the case where not all information was available when initially completing the form.
 
For every action to be completed, WorkflowGen sends automatic email notifications to the corresponding users.
If a lead time was specified on a specific action, WorkflowGen can automatically send overdue email notification to the implicated users or to any other user in the system.
 
Once all requirements have been fulfilled and the checklists completed, they forward their completed form to the Hiring Manager for final review.
 
The Hiring Manager reviews and approves the various department checklists and completes the new employee integration process.
 
Once the process completed, the information in the various forms can automatically be exported to an external HR system using the automatic system action. This way the information remains readily available for referencing and for employee account modifications or termination. 

 

General Form
Here is an example of the initial form filled out by the Hiring Manager.
The look & feel can be fully customized. 

IT Form
Here is an example of the form being filled out by the IT department. The employee information entered in the initial form is automatically populated in all department forms.
The IT employee can save his partially completed form as a draft and complete it at a later time.

Process

The IT environment constantly grows in complexity with new hardware, software, network equipments and organizations of all sizes need to manage IT changes on a daily basis.

The WorkflowGen workflow software offers a way to quickly automate and optimize the IT Change process by reflecting the existing business rules and the way the organization really works.  

The IT Change process can be implemented as part of the ITIL or COBIT standards.

In the following example of IT Change process implemented in WorkflowGen:
- all the steps are tracked and monitored
- the process data is captured in a structured and formal electronic form 
- the actions are automatically assigned based on the nature (category, priority) of the Request For Change (RFC)
- roles are defined reflecting all the groups involved in the process: Change Initiator, Change Manager, Change Advisory Board (CAB), Change Advisory Board Emergency Committee (CAB/EC), IT Executive Committee (ITEC)
- the participants are automatically notified via email

 
Form
Here is an example of a .Net Web Form.
The layout can be fully customized by using Visual Studio or the free Visual Web Developer 2005 Express. The Web Form just needs to contain all the fields required for this process.
The sections of the form can be displayed based on the each workflow action and based on the profile of the user connected.

Workflow with WorkflowGen
1/ The Change Initiator opens his browser and logs on to the WorkflowGen workflow software.

2/ The Change Initiator clicks “New Request” and selects “I.T. Change Application”. The IT Change Web Form is displayed within WorkflowGen. The Change Initiator completes the form with the description, the reason, the change type, the priority, the category, the deadline and he also can attach documents. Then he submits the action.

3/ The next action can be manually or automatically assigned the a person or a group of persons. The next participants are automatically notified by email. In the email notification they click on a link that will launch the action to do.

4/ The Changer Manager launches his action and displays the form. In the form he can modify the category and the priority and also ask the Change Initiator for more information.
Then he submits the action.

5/ Depending on the nature of the change (category and priority) the next action will be automatically assigned to a specific participant: 
- A Standard change will be immediatly sent to the Change Manager for implementation.
- A Minor change will be sent to the Change Manager for approval.
- A Major change will be sent to the CAB for approval or escalation to the ITEC.
- An Emergency change will be sent to the CABEC for approval.

Each participant will be able to fill out specific sections of the form depending on the actions they have to do. The access to the form fields can be secured depending on each action.

6/ After the approval by the authorized participant the next action is assigned automatically to the Change Manager who will select the Change Developer for the implementation of the requested change.

7/ The Change Manager uses the form to select the Change Developer and define a deadline.
Then he submits the action.

8/ The Change Developer is automatically notified by email. He performs the change and then uses the form to enter the completion date and some comments. Then he submits the action.

9/ The Change Manager is automatically notified by email. He reviews the change implemented by the Change Developer. He can approve the change or ask for modifications.
When he approves he submits the action. That will end the workflow.

10/ The Change Initiator is automatically notified by email of the completion of the Change Request.

Process
The project manager wants to submit a purchase request. He completes the Investment Application form and forwards it to his/her manager. If the manager approves the application, it is then sent to the finance controller. For amounts over $15,000, and when pre-approval has been given by the controller, the CEO will also have to approve the application. The process varies depending on the amount involved.  
  
Form
Here is an example of a .Net Web Form.
The layout can be fully customized by using Visual Studio or the free Visual Web Developer 2005 Express. The Web Form just needs to contain all the fields required for this process.
The sections of the form can be displayed based on the each workflow action and based on the profile of the user connected.  
 

Workflow with WorkflowGen
1/ The employee opens his/her browser and logs on to WorkflowGen.

2/ He/she clicks “New application” and selects “Investment Application”. By clicking “Launch application”, he/she then accesses the “Application follow-up form”.

3/ In “My to-do list”, he/she clicks “Complete” and the form corresponding to the selected application is displayed. The employee completes the form and clicks “Send form”.

4/ Now back at the “Application follow-up form”, the project manager can choose to whom the application is to be sent. By clicking “Assign this action to a person”, he/she can select the person from a list and click “Assign”.

5/ At this point an e-mail message is sent to the selected person (the manager) with the subject line reading “One new action has been assigned to you”.

6/ By clicking “View action”, the manager accesses the “Application follow-up form” and goes to “My to-do list”. By clicking the action assigned to him/her (here, a validation), the form opens again. The manager can also fill-in the appropriate areas to approve or refuse the application, before clicking “Send form”.

7/  In turn the manager will assign an action to the next participant by selecting him/her the same way the project manager did. In this example, the finance controller has been notified by e-mail.

8/ The finance controller will launch the action he/she has been assigned and the form (which has been completed and validated by both previous participants) will open. The finance controller can then approve or reject the investment application.

9/ There are now two alternatives:
- if the finance controller approves and the amount requested is less than $15,000, the application is closed and the project manager is notified by e-mail.
- if the finance controller approves and the amount requested is greater than $15,000, the application is forwarded to the CEO for final approval.
Of course, should the finance controller reject the application – whatever the involved amount – the project manager is notified by e-mail that the application has been unsuccessful.

10/ Let us take the example where the amount requested is greater than $15,000 and the finance controller has given his/her approval. The CEO will then be informed by e-mail and will in turn begin the validation process. Thus, it is the CEO who closes the application (by approving or rejecting it). Whatever the decision, the project manager will be notified by e-mail. 

Process
The employee completes the leave application form. This is sent to the manager, who approves or rejects the application. When the application is approved, the application is forwarded to the director, who then makes the final decision. 
 
Form
Here is an example of a .Net Web Form.
The layout can be fully customized by using Visual Studio or the free Visual Web Developer 2005 Express. The Web Form just needs to contain all the fields required for this process.
The sections of the form can be displayed based on the each workflow action and based on the profile of the user connected. 

Workflow with WorkflowGen
1/ The employee opens his/her browser and logs on to WorkflowGen.

2/ He/she clicks “New application” and selects “Leave application”. By clicking “Launch application”, he/she then accesses the “Application follow-up form”.

3/ In “My to-do list”, he/she clicks “Complete” and the form corresponding to the selected application is displayed. The employee completes the form and clicks “Send form”.

4/ Now back at the “Application follow-up form”, the employee can choose to whom the application is to be sent. By clicking “Assign this action to a person”, he/she can select the person from a list and click “Assign”.

5/ At this point an e-mail message is sent to the selected person (the manager) with the subject line reading “One new action has been allocated to you”.

6/ By clicking “View action”, the manager accesses the “Application follow-up form” and goes to “My to-do list”. By clicking the action allocated to him/her (here, a validation), the form opens again. The manager can also fills-in the appropriate areas to approve or refuse the application, before clicking “Send form”.

7/ The manager selects the next participant, who is then notified by e-mail and performs the action assigned to him/her. In the following example, the director closes the application by approving or refusing the request. Whatever the outcome, the employee is notified of the final decision regarding his/her leave application.

Process
The requester completes the work order that is sent to a coordinator in the logistics department.

The coordinator analizes the request, if it is not properly completed it is sent back to the requester for modification. If it is properly completed it is sent to the most appropriate person with information about the time limit and the means needed to handle the request.

The designated person will notify the requester of the work order completion by sending back the form (if the work order is not completed the person in charge can use the form to explain why.)

The requester closes his work order request and adds a comment about the provided service quality.

The coordinator is notified by email that the process is closed.

Workflow with WorkflowGen
1/ The employee opens his/her browser and logs on to WorkflowGen.

2/ He/she clicks “New application” and selects “Work Order”. By clicking  “Launch application”, he/she then accesses the “Application follow-up form”.

3/ In “My to-do list”, he/she clicks “Complete” and the form corresponding to the selected application is displayed. The employee completes the form, the nature of work he needs and the time limit and clicks “Send form”.

4/ At this point an e-mail message is sent to the logistics coordinator with the subject line reading “One new action has been assigned to you”.

5/ By clicking “View action”, the coordinator accesses the “Application follow-up form” and goes to “My to-do list”. By clicking the action assigned to him/her (in this case, Analyze), the  form opens again. The coordinator checks if the provided information is valid for this work order. If the request is not properly completed, it is sent back to the requester who will be able to perform the INITIATE action and send the modified work order to the coordinator.  If the request is properly filled-in the coordinator defines a time limit and additional advices for the person in charge of handling the work order. The coordinator then clicks “Send form”, accesses the “Application follow-up form” and designates the person from a list.

6/ At this point an e-mail message is sent to the person selected with the subject line reading “One new action has been assigned to you”. By clicking “View action”, the manager accesses the “Application follow-up form” and goes to “My to-do list”. By clicking the action assigned to him/her (in this case, HANDLE), the form opens again with information and instructions entered by the requester and the coordinator. The designated person fills-in the appropriate areas about the work order before clicking “Send form”.

7/ The requester is notified by e-mail that he has to handle the "CLOSE" action. The form is launched and the requester can add a comment about the quality of the service and the way the work order was handled. He clicks "Send form" and the coordinator is notified by e-mail that the process is closed. The coordinator accesses the “Application follow-up form” and reviews all the actions and data of the process.

Process
This procedure of "Corrective and Preventive actions" is part of the ISO 9002 standard.

The employee who noticed a dysfunction will fill-in the corrective or preventive action form and forward it to his manager. The manager can then forward the form to the quality controller who will analyze it and perform the corrective action. The quality controller can then assign the corrective action to another person. The designated person will handle the corrective action, fill-in the form and send it back to the quality controller. The quality controller will then verify the effectiveness of the action and finaly notify the employee and his manager.
 
Workflow with WorkflowGen
1/ The employee opens his/her browser and logs on to WorkflowGen.

2/ He/she clicks “New application” and selects “Corrective Action”. By clicking “Launch application”, he/she then accesses the “Application follow-up form”.

3/ In “My to-do list”, he/she clicks “Complete” and the form corresponding to the selected application is displayed. The employee completes the form and clicks “Send the form”.

4/ At this point an e-mail message is sent to the most appropriate person (the manager) with the subject line reading “One new action has been assigned to you”.

5/ By clicking “View action”, the manager accesses the “Application follow-up form” and goes to “My to-do list”. By clicking the action assigned to him/her (here, a validation), the form opens again. The manager can also complete the appropriate areas to approve or deny the application, before clicking “Send form”.

6/ If the manager denies the corrective action application, the process is closed and the employee is notified by email. If the application is approved, the quality controller is notified by email that an action has been assigned to him.

7/ By clicking “View action”, the quality controller accesses the “Application follow-up form” he then clicks the "Analyze" action and opens the form. After completing the relevant form fields he clicks "Send form" and then assigns the next action to the person responsible for handling the corrective action.

8/ The designated person is notified by e-mail. He accesses the “Application follow-up form” and clicks the "Perform" action. After completing the relevant form fields he clicks "Send form".

9/ The quality controller is notified by e-mail. He then verifies the effectiveness of the corrective action performed by the designated person. Once the verification is done he clicks "Send the form".

10/ The process is closed, the employee and the manager are notified by e-mail.

Process
The employee completes the I.T. Clearance Application to obtain the authorization to use various software. The application is sent to his/her manager, who can then approve, or reject the request.

Should the manager approve the application, it will then be simultaneously forwarded to every person involved by the software the employee requested.

Once all recipients have approved the application, it is sent to the I.T. department, which then opens the account(s) requested by the employee, in agreement with the various departments. 
 
Workflow with WorkflowGen
1/ The employee opens his/her browser and logs on to WorkflowGen.

2/ He/she clicks “New application” and selects “I.T. Clearance Application”. By clicking “Launch application”, he/she then accesses the “Application follow-up form”.

3/ In “My to-do list”, he/she clicks “Complete” and the form corresponding to the application selected is displayed. The employee completes the form, selects the software he/she wishes to be able to access and clicks “Send form”.

4/ Now back at the “Application follow-up form”, the employee can choose to whom the application is to be sent. By clicking “Assign this action to a person”, he/she can select the person from a list and click “Assign”.

5/ At this point an e-mail message is sent to the selected person (the manager) with the subject line reading “One new action has been allocated to you”.

6/ By clicking “View action”, the manager accesses the “Application follow-up form” and goes to “My to-do list”. By clicking the action assigned to him/her (here, a validation), the form opens again. The manager can also complete the appropriate areas to approve or refuse the application, before clicking “Send form”.

7/ Once validated by the manager, the form is sent automatically and simultaneously (synchronization) to the departments related to the software, as specified by the employee. Those departments are notified by e-mail that they have an application requiring approval.

8/ WorkflowGen’s workflow engine waits until all the involved departments have performed their actions on the form. Once this is done, the application is sent automatically to the I.T. department.

9/ I.T. can view the form and open the account(s) for the software, as approved by the various departments. The employee is then notified by e-mail that the application has been successful. 

Process
A Dept.Supervisor wrote an internal procedure and he needs to have it validated. He forwards the procedure to the QC Manager who will verify its compliance. The QC Manager may approve or not the procedure application or return it to the Dept.Supervisor for reviewing. In case of an approval and if he thinks it's necessary, the QC Manager will forward the procedure to the Director who will decide of its official use. 
 

Doc-Approval interface
When a process requires the approval of a document, workflowgen uses the Doc-Approval User interface.
This user-friendly tool enables the user to upload and visualize a file for validation purposes.

 
Workflow with WorkflowGen
1/ The Dept.Supervisor opens his/her browser and logs on to WorkflowGen.

2/ He/she clicks “New application” and selects “Procedure validation”, by clicking "Launch a new request" He/she accesses to the "Action follow-up form".

3/ Then, He/she clicks "Launch action" and the "Doc-upload" interface appears . The action He/she has to do it's to "Upload" in WorkflowGen the procedure to be validated . He/she clicks "Browse" button and  selects the procedure (Word document, PDF etc etc...) in his/her local files. Then He/she clicks "Submit" and the file is automatically uploaded in WorkflowGen. At this point an e-mail message is sent to the QC Manager with the subject line reading “One new action has been allocated to you”.

4/ From the notification e-mail, the QC Manager can consult his action and go to WorkflowGen. So, He accesses directly  to the "Request follow-up form". The action he has to do is "Approve" the procedure proposed by the Dept.Manager. In "My actions to do", He clicks "Approves" and accesses the "Doc-approval" interface. The proposed procedure is displayed in the interface, the QC Manager can read it and choose between 4 options to define the request continuation: Agreement, Refusal, Forward, Review.

4.1/ If the QC Manager chooses "Agreement":
The procedure is approved and will be used. The Dept.Supervisor is notified by email his/her request is closed and the procedure approved.

4.2/ if the QC Manager chooses "Refusal":
The procedure is refused. The Dept.Supervisor is notified by e-mail his/her request is closed and the procedure refused.

4.3/ if the QC Manager chooses "Forward":
The QC Manager has approved the procedure and estimated it required the Director agreement. So the Director is notified by e-mail that an action has been assigned to him. From the e-mail, the Director accesses WorkflowGen and launch his action, here "Approve". The "Doc-approval" interface appears, the procedure is displayed on the screen. The Director has two options: Agreement, Refusal

4.3.1/ If the Director chooses "Agreement":
The procedure is approved and will be published. The QC Manager and the Dept.Supervisor are notified by email that the request is closed and the procedure approved.

4.3.2/ If the Director chooses "Refusal":
The procedure is refused. The QC Manager and the Dept.Supervisor are notified by e-mail his/her request is closed and the procedure refused.

4.4/ if the QC Manager choose "Review":
The QC Manager wants the Dept.Supervisor to review his procedure. The Dept.Supervisor is notified by e-mail and accesses the "request follow up form" in WorkflowGen. He can consult the comments or/and the file the QC Manager would have attached, then he launches his action "Review". The "Doc-upload" interface is displayed and the Dept.Supervisor can upload the procedure he will have modified. Then He will click "submit the form" and again the QC Manager will be notified by e-mail that he must approve the procedure (the workflow loops back to step 4)

In any case, the QC Manager may add comments to explain or justify his choice and/or upload additonal files in WorkflowGen.

To complete his action, the QC Manager clicks "Submit the form".

Process
A customer files a claim; one of the sales department employees handles it and initiates the adequate form. If it is a pricing error, the claim is directly sent to accounting to create a credit.  For all other types of claims, the request is sent to the Quality Control (QC) department for analysis. If the claim is about a nonconformity already processed, the QC analyzes the cost of the claim and sends it to accounting. If the claim is about a nonconformity unprocessed until now, the request is sent to the relevant service employee who will plan and determine a corrective action. After processing this part of the workflow, QC analyzes the corrective action cost and sends it to accounting, which will impact real costs of the nonconformity correction. To end the workflow, the request is sent to the QC, who will close and verify the efficiency of the corrective action or will simply complete the workflow by filling in the date when the claim has been processed.
 
Workflow with WorkflowGen
1/ The employee opens his/her browser and logs on to WorkflowGen.

2/ He/she clicks “New request” and selects "Customer claim”. He/she then accesses the “Action follow-up form”.

3/ He/she clicks "Initiates” and the form corresponding to the selected request is displayed. The sales employee fills in the form; claim order number and customer information are automatically retrieved from a database. Then the employee clicks "Submit form".

4/ If the claim is about a pricing error, an email notification is automatically sent to a person in the accounting dept, with the subject line reading: "One new action has been assigned to you". By clicking "Consult the action", he/she accesses the "Follow-up action form" and goes to "My actions to do". By clicking the action he/she has been assigned, in this case "Create" a credit note, the eform is displayed again. He/she fills-in the appropriate areas.

5/ If the claim is not about a pricing error, the QC is automatically notified via email with the subject line reading: "One new action has been assigned to you". By clicking "Consult the action", the QC accesses the "Follow-up action form" and goes to "My actions to do". By clicking "Analyzes claim" , the form is displayed. The QC can then analyze the request. According to the nature of the claim, he/she will complete the form if it's about a non conformity already processed or unprocessed until now. Then he/she clicks "Submit form".

6/ If it is about a nonconformity already processed, the next action will by handled again by the QC. The action to perform is "Analyzes cost". After having filled in the form, the QC clicks "Submit form" and an action is assigned to one of the accounting staff.

7/ If the claim relates to an unprocessed nonconformity, the  service manager chosen by the QC is notified via email that an action was assigned to him/her. The service manager clicks "Consult the action" and accesses the "Action follow-up form" and "deal with non conformity". The form is displayed and the manager reads the claim and the analysis done by the QC. Then he/she proposes a corrective action by filling in the appropriate fields and clicks "Submit form".

8/ The QC is then notified via email that one new action was assigned to him/her. This new action is "Analyses cost" of claim's processing according to his own analysis or the corrective action proposed by the service manager. He/she clicks the action's name and the form is displayed. He/she fills-in the "Real costs processing" section. Then clicks "Submit form".

9/ The accouting person is notified via email that he/she has to impact the real costs of claim's processing and to create the credit note if needed.

10/ Once the accounting action is performed, the QC is notified via email that he has to close the customer claim, so he/she launches "Closes" in WorkflowGen and fills-in the fields corresponding to the corrective action and verification of its efficiency. He/she fills in the date in the form to indicate when the claim was officially processed. To finish he/she clicks "Submit form".

11 / The sales department employee who launched the customer claim process and the service manager who performed the corrective action, are notified via mail of the request end.

Process
The employee completes the expense report. He sends it to the supervisor, who approves or rejects the expense. When the expense is approved, it is forwarded to the accounting department, which gets the expense reimbursed.
You can enhance the process by using an upload action to attach an invoice receipt to the expense form.
 
Workflow with WorkflowGen
1/ The employee opens his/her browser and logs on to WorkflowGen.

2/ He/she clicks “New request” and selects "Expense report”. He/she then accesses the “Action follow-up form”.

3/ He/she clicks "Initiates” and the form corresponding to the selected request is displayed. The employee completes the form and clicks “Submit form”.

4/ At this point an e-mail message is sent to the employee with the subject line reading “One new action has been allocated to you”. In fact, in this process the two fisrt actions are done by the requester. He/she clicks "View action" in the email.

5/ He accesses to the "Action follow-up form" and clicks "Upload". The second action he/she has to do is to "Upload" the invoice related to his/her request. He/she clicks "Launch action". eFormGen Doc-Upload is displayed, he/she clicks "Browse" to select the invoice file on his computer. After having chosen the right file, he/she clicks "Send the form".

6/ By clicking "Assign this action to a person" list, He/she assigns the third action to his/her Supervisor.

7/ An email message is sent to the Supervisor selected with the subjet line reading "One new action has been assigned to you".

8/ By clicking “View action”, the Supervisor accesses the “Action follow-up form”. He can consult the joined invoice by clicking "Invoice". By clicking the action assigned to him/her (here, a validation), the form opens again. The supervisor complete the appropriate areas to approve or refuse the application, before clicking “Send form”.

9/ There are now two options:
- if the Supervisor doesn't approve the expense form, the process is closed and the employee is notified by e-mail.
- if the Supervisor approves the request, it is forwarded to accounting, which gets the expense reimbursed.

10/ In the case of Supervisor approval, the accounting participant is notified by e-mail  that an action was assigned to him/her. By clicking "View action" he/she accesses "Action follow-up form". He/she consults invoice receipt then he/she clicks "Creates" and the form is displayed. When the reimbursement check will be created he/she will fill the field "Proceed" "YES" into the form and will click "Submit form".

11/ An email notifies  the employee that his/her request is closed and he/she will be refunded soon.