How Do I Automate My Workflow?
Automation is key to streamlining business processes and increasing productivity. If you have a workflow that you perform repeatedly in your organization, you can save time and improve efficiency by automating it. In this blog post, we explore how to automate your workflow on three levels, starting with workflow implementation and going all the way to top-level orchestration.
Level One: Implement Your Workflow in a Workflow Management System
The first step in automating your workflow is to implement it in a workflow management system like Pneumatic. Build out a workflow template that outlines the sequence of steps required to perform a specific business operation, and run a new workflow whenever you need to perform this job. The workflow management system will automatically assign tasks to your team members and notify them when a specific stage is completed. This eliminates the need for manual tracking of assigned tasks and allows you to monitor the progress of each workflow in real time.
Level Two: Integration with Third-Party Software Systems
Once you have your workflow template in Pneumatic, you can integrate it with third-party software systems that your team uses. Integrations can be built to automate task completion in Pneumatic or the performance of specific actions in a third-party software system. For example, if your business process involves the creation and modification of a Google Doc document, you can set up an integration that automatically creates a new document when a new workflow is run and sends links to it to all the relevant members of your team. Similarly, if a step requires sending email notifications to certain people, your workflow management system can automatically send those emails by getting information from the relevant data fields in your workflow. Integrations work both ways in Pneumatic, allowing you to trigger workflows based on events in third-party systems and deliver resulting data to those platforms. Automated actions can also be triggered at the start and completion of tasks within a workflow.
Level Three: Top-Level Orchestration
Once you’ve set up all the integrations and automated the launching of workflows, your workflow management system can operate as a top-level orchestration system. It can send assignments to relevant team members and direct them to the applications they need to use to complete their tasks. This setup minimizes human error and maximizes the efficiency of operations, making it an ideal setup for workflow management.
Summary
Automating your workflows in a workflow management system like Pneumatic and integrating them with third-party software systems can greatly improve your business process management. By eliminating manual tracking, automating task completion, and directing team members to the applications they need to use to complete their tasks, you can save time, reduce errors, and improve efficiency. With Pneumatic, automating workflows is a simple process that can be accomplished in just a few steps. By implementing automation at all three levels — implementing workflows, integrating them with third-party software, and building out a top-level orchestration solution — you can optimize your workflow management and improve overall business productivity.