Many processes we deal with through Integrify Professional Services and Support have been documented at some time in the past, usually with an instructional document and nice Visio diagram, but as time passes, the document(s) is not maintained to reflect changes to the process or organization, and if it was ever accurate to begin with, it is usually out of date. This is not unusual and is a natural by-product of process evolution and usage within an organization.

The first step in migrating from a manual process to an automated will require that you take a fresh look at your company’s process and create a formal process description. A basic workflow definition should contain the following three items at a minimum:

1. Written description - purpose/goal of the process and how it works
   
2. Flowchart – graphical representation of your process
3. Task recipients chart – who is doing what in your process

Creating the workflow definition will likely be a very illuminating experience. You will often find that while your work has been getting done, it might not have been accomplished in a way that you wanted it to! Developing a formal workflow definition is a huge first step toward identifying and fixing inefficiencies in your business process.

Now that hard and fast business rules have to be applied to the process, you will be able to immediately identify which tasks in your process are either not well defined and may be removed from your process entirely. You may also find places where the proper ownership of certain tasks is in question. It will require effort, collaboration with fellow co-workers, and a degree ownership on behalf of one or many people in your organization to work through these issues and define your process effectively.

Once you have a well defined workflow definition, it is time to implement the workflow in the Integrify system. Many customers elect to have Integrify create their first process or two so they may take advantage of our expertise and learn the system better during the initial collaborative effort.

To help you get started Integrify Profession Services and Support has created some of the following resources for you:

1. My First Process Video
2. How To: Formally Define a Process
3. Common Questions and Answers