Workflow: Enhancing the Way We Do Business Beth Hayes & Rich Dumm

1. Workflow: Enhancing the Way We Do BusinessBeth Hayes & Rich Dumm http://ais.its.psu.edu/

2. Key Issues • Business Process Definition • Why Workflow? • AIS Subcommittee Representation • Business Drivers and Expectations • Functional Enhancements • New Roles and Terms • Organizational Structures • Business Direction and Strategy • Milestones and Timelines • Opportunities for Involvement • Application Development & Demo http://ais.its.psu.edu/

3. Business Process A set of one or more linked procedures or activities which collectively realize a business objective or policy goal, normally within the context of an organizational structure defining functional roles and relationships. http://ais.its.psu.edu/

4. Penn State Business Processes • They exist in all shapes, sizes and flavors • Some are older than we are, and others are brand new • Several continue to be manually intensive • And many have been automated but do not meet the needs of today’s business environment and expectations • Some processes probably just don’t work http://ais.its.psu.edu/

5. Why Workflow? • User driven initiative • AIS Advisory Committee created a Workflow subcommittee to focus on PSU workflow needs and provide recommendation • Workflow initiative was included in the 2004 AIS Strategic Plan • Purchased Fujitsu iBPM Advanced Edition workflow engine • Workflow project structure was created in 2005 • Received and continues to receive executive level support http://ais.its.psu.edu/

6. AIS Subcommittee Representation University Libraries Auxiliary and Business Services Outreach Office of Physical Plant • University Controller • Human Resources • Administrative Information Systems • College of Engineering http://ais.its.psu.edu/

7. Business Drivers and Expectations • Improve business/academic process effectiveness and efficiency • Improve customer service • Reduce costs • Improve process control • Increase flexibility • Facilitate process change • Consistent user interface and experience http://ais.its.psu.edu/

8. Functional Enhancements Automate paper processes Enable electronic attachments Standardize and streamline approval paths Automatic email notification Combine multiple processes Client-side edits such dates, text fields, etc. Online help and documentation Notepad areas for comments Standardized data display and entry http://ais.its.psu.edu/

9. For Example… When Sabbatical moves to Workflow: • Automate paper process • Eliminate manual data verification performed by the Office of Human Resources • Automate data verification by using enterprise data from IBIS as the applicant creates a new form • Enable the applicant to track their application through the process, enabling them to know where in the path their request is, but not see/view actual recommendation actions • Significantly streamline the process within the November 1 – January 1 window http://ais.its.psu.edu/

10. New Roles and Terms Business Process Business Process Analyst Process Process Design Team Process Steward • Role-based Approval • Role Steward • Role Assigner • Workflow • Workflow Application • Worklist See glossary for definitions http://ais.its.psu.edu/

11. Security & LDAP Open Standards Development Group Policy and Roles EASY Re-engineering Infrastructure Workflow Project Organizational Structure AIS Senior Management Workflow ProjectManagement • Implement & support security architecture • Integrate roles and attributes with PSU LDAP server • Develop Web interface to assign and manage roles • Implement hardware & software infrastructure • Install and manage Workflow-related software, databases and processes • Develop policy for official University processes • Identify and define central, policy-based roles and attributes • Ensure policy meets auditing requirements • Establish a plan for re-engineering and streamlining business processes found in existing EASY forms • Oversee migration from EASY to Workflow • Collaborate with stakeholders to develop Workflow processes and forms • Build workflow applications using JAVA & JSP http://ais.its.psu.edu/

12. Additional Organizational Structure (Some Not Yet Formed) Policy Governance Process Design Teams • Provide guidelines to distinguish central vs. departmental process • Review and act upon requests for new or revised central roles Project Management Standards User Feedback Participants • Develop user interface standards • Identify and define common features, i.e. browse, inquiry for all processes • Establish naming conventions • Identify Process and Role Stewards • Approve functional & detail design docs • Coordinate development, review and implementation schedules • Test and provide feedback on usability • Review products for consistency, functional completeness & accuracy • Review documentation & help material • Prepare functional & detail design documents • Organize & coordinate Ad Hoc review groups • Review prototypes for adherence to design docs & standards http://ais.its.psu.edu/

13. Business Direction and Strategy • Multi-year project • Re-engineer existing Financial and OHR EASY forms • Automate academic processes • Solidify Workflow Organizational structure • Continue JAVA training for additional developers and increase number of Workflow development resources • Identify Workflow training needs and develop training programs http://ais.its.psu.edu/

14. Milestones & Timelines Q1 07 Q2 07 Q3 07 Q4 07 Q1 08 Q2 08 Q3 08 Q3 06 Q4 06 Q4 08 • Processes in Test: • Undergraduate Education Travel Request • Sabbatical • FANS • Supplemental Compensation • Purchasing Card • Workflow Role Authorization Processes in Pilot Publish WF Policy EASY Re-engineering Project and non-Financial WF development Establish WF Governance Body Production WF Available http://ais.its.psu.edu/

15. Opportunities for Involvement • Participate on Process Design Teams • Participate in working groups that will identify and define academic roles and attributes • Provide user testing and feedback for prototypes • Representation on creation and membership of Workflow Governance Body • Serve as a Process Steward • Serve as a Business Process Analyst in areas of domain expertise http://ais.its.psu.edu/

16. OSD Team Application Development Initial, low-stakes, paper-based processes: • Undergraduate Education Research Travel Request (ready for test deployment) • Sabbatical • Workflow Role Authorization Process (currently paper signature cards, required for financial) http://ais.its.psu.edu/

17. Application Development(cont.) Initial, less-complex EASY processes to be re-engineered: • APCA/UPCA (purchasing card authorization) • Supplemental Compensation Initial, complex EASY process to be re-engineered: • HR Termination* *Note: Termination process is being re-engineered and developed by OHR development team. OSD is serving as Workflow development consultants. Model for future development partnerships. http://ais.its.psu.edu/

18. Process Flow in EASY http://ais.its.psu.edu/

19. Process Flow in Workflow http://ais.its.psu.edu/

20. Pilot Workflow Undergraduate Education Research Student Travel Funds Request “Test Deployment Process” http://ais.its.psu.edu/

21. Pilot Workflow Student Travel Funds Request • Funds are available for Student Travel • Academic Workflow • Faculty Mentor Initiates • Manual paper process – 2 to 3 weeks http://ais.its.psu.edu/

22. Pilot Workflow Electronic Workflow • Role based approvals • Manual paper process to electronic routing • Reduce time from 2-3 weeks to 2-3 hours • Electronic confirmations delivered to all parties at end of process http://ais.its.psu.edu/

23. Pilot Workflow CWC? Yes/no Faculty Mentor INITIATES No Dept Head APPROVES Dean APPROVES START Yes Vice Provost APPROVES Form Routed to CWC Fin. Officer APPROVES END CWC = Commonwealth Campus http://ais.its.psu.edu/

24. Demonstration ofUndergraduate EducationTravel Request Process(recorded by Rich Dumm) http://ais.its.psu.edu/

25. Workflow Contacts and Information • Beth Hayes, Project Manager • bah1@psu.edu, 863-3514 • Rich Dumm, Manager, Open Standards Development Group • rdd4@psu.edu, 865-1754 • Web site • http://ais.its.psu.edu/workflow • Questions • workflow@psu.edu http://ais.its.psu.edu/

26. Glossary Business Process -- A set of one or more linked procedures or activities which collectively realize a business objective or policy goal, normally within the context of an organizational structure defining functional roles and relationships. Business Process Analyst -- deals with the more-tactical aspects of discovering, validating, documenting and communicating business-process-related knowledge through modeling, simulating and analyzing current and future states. Focus is on business outcomes versus technical ‘how to’. Process -- A formalized view of a business process, represented as a coordinated (parallel and/or serial) set of process activities that are connected in order to achieve a common goal. http://ais.its.psu.edu/

27. Glossary (cont.) Process Design Team – Established for each Workflow process. Membership includes Process Steward, business rules experts, stakeholders, users and Workflow application developer. Process Steward (Owner) – is responsible for overseeing the business rules associated with the process to ensure adherence to University policy. Participates on Process Design Team. Role-based Approval – utilizes an approval path based on roles (Dean, Budget Admin, Financial Officer, etc.) that are required by policy for the approval of financial, academic and administrative processes. Role Steward -- oversees and maintains central, policy-based roles and associated attributes for financial, academic and administrative areas within their authority. Designate and authorize Role Assigners. http://ais.its.psu.edu/

28. Glossary (cont.) Role Assigner – Identifies and assigns approval roles and authority to PSU employees for processes for which they will serve as an approver within their area of authority. Workflow -- The automation of a business process, in whole or part, during which documents, information or tasks are passed from one participant to another for action, according to a set of procedural rules. Workflow Application -- A general term for a software program that interacts with a workflow enactment service, handling part of the processing required to support a particular activity (or activities). Worklist -- A list of work items associated with a Workflow user who serves in an approval role. The worklist is displayed upon login to the Workflow system via a Web browser. http://ais.its.psu.edu/