What is a Workflow? Overview, Examples, & Tools

Without workflows, you have no way of getting work done, let alone delivering it to a client or stakeholder.

Workflows are the way you deliver value and outcomes to a customer or stakeholder—via a series of manual or automated actions or steps (or a combination of both) strung together.

What Is A Workflow in Project Management?

A workflow is a repeatable series of steps or activities that are necessary to complete a task. For example, the creative workflow process for a new website may involve layout design, coding, testing, and launch. By using a workflow, you can keep projects on track and make sure that tasks are completed as efficiently as possible.

Workflows are often visualized on flowcharts, which either show the process steps each work item will go through to be considered done, or what the process looks like at a more macro-level (i.e. the stages in the process of task completion or project completion overall).

Don't confuse workflow diagrams and flowcharts with other project management visualization tools:

• Gantt charts show specific tasks and activities that will be completed throughout the project, when they will be completed, and who is working on them. Workflows are higher-level, focusing on phases or stages rather than individual tasks.
• Critical paths show the shortest possible timeline of the project based on the duration of specific tasks and their dependencies. Workflows don't usually include timings or durations for different stages.
• PERT diagrams also take into account specific tasks and dependencies, but they are focused on milestones rather than specific activities. Your workflows might indicate milestones, but they won't account for dependencies (only the sequence of steps).

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The Evolution of Workflows

The origins of workflows can be traced back to Frederick Taylor and Henry Gantt, whose work involved applying scientific principles to improve worker productivity. This gave rise to a host of new ideas about how to manage workers, organize the flow of work, and create more productive employees and teams.

The use of computers in offices allowed for repetitive tasks and workflows and process to be automated, and business software like enterprise resource planning tools (ERPs) and customer relationship management software (CRMs) gained popularity.

Workflows are now inseparable from the workflow management software tools that power them, and more recent advancements like the integration of machine learning and artificial intelligence for use in project management applications, cloud computing and storage, and process analysis software, give organizations the ability to refine and adapt their processes to find the most efficient and productive ways of working.

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Examples of Different Types of Workflows

Workflow use cases and examples of workflows that you might use as a project manager include:

1. Getting a project request from a project sponsor, and getting the project started
2. Defining requirements, developing a solution that fits those requirements, testing, and launching a product or service
3. The project management life cycle: think project initiation, planning, execution, monitor & control, closure.

You might also create workflows that your team carries out, such as customer experience and support workflows, onboarding workflows, procurement workflows, business operations workflows, or digital workflows for creating and approving digital assets.

Here's a detailed example of a support delivery workflow.

1. The complaint or support ticket is logged with the service desk analyst.
2. A fix is attempted. If it's successful, skip to step seven.
3. If it's not successful, allocate the ticket to the appropriate service desk analyst for further investigation.
4. Attempt another fix and update and annotate the ticket. Repeat as needed.
5. Exhaust the service desk knowledge and escalate the ticket.
6. Monitor the ticket with the escalation team.
7. Find a successful solution and inform the customer.
8. Close the ticket.

Workflows can be documented and communicated at many different levels.

The below workflow shows a larger scope of work and a higher-level process for support delivery, which includes smaller processes within it (these should also be documented).

This workflow example uses swimlanes to make ownership clear at each workflow step by showing which team will handle each part of the process. Swimlanes are not required, but they are helpful when you're mapping out a complex process that spans many teams or areas of responsibility.

In the first swimlane, you can find a sub-workflow that describes what happens in more detail than the higher-level process.

How To Create An Effective Workflow

Here is step-by-step guide to creating an effective workflow:

1. Start with sticky notes. Make a sticky note for each task that needs to be done or each stage of the project, and move them into a thoughtful sequence of tasks.
2. Consult with the team. Talk to the people who are actually carrying out the steps in the workflow. Find out if there's anything missing, if there's a step in the wrong order, or if there are other considerations that you've missed. 
3. Map out the workflow. This is normally easiest to do in flowchart software, workflow diagram software, or mind mapping software. Write down the steps in the process, leaving space in between.
4. Draw squares around each step in the activity and arrows to denote the next steps.
5. Identify bottlenecks, redundancies, and dependencies. Note these with specific symbols or colors (and include a legend).
6. Define roles and responsibilities. You won't be assigning people to specific phases or tasks, but you should know what roles will be involved in the process. For example, in a project initiation workflow, the project manager is responsible for setting up a kickoff call, and the client must approve the project plan.
7. File it in the appropriate place and make sure everyone has access. Not only is it important for the team to be able to refer back to as they're completing work, but it's also important for employee onboarding and training team members.

Best Practices For Creating Workflows

As you're creating your project workflows, here are some best practices to keep in mind.

• Have a clear objective. Make sure your workflow has a purpose and is something the team needs. No one will follow a process that doesn't offer any value to them or the project.
• Establish a feedback loop. Keep getting feedback from the team and anyone else using the workflow. Find out what's working and what's not, and adjust the workflow as needed.
• Make use of software and process automation tools. Workflow automation software and other process workflow software tools are made to create, automate, and optimize workflows in order to reduce human error and inefficiencies. Read about the benefits of automation here.
• Establish how you'll measure success. Determine which KPIs and metrics you'll use to assess whether your workflow is being used successfully. This data is a good indicator of whether you need to adjust it or not.
• Consider scalability. Determine how you'll adapt your workflows as the team and organization grows. You might need to add more steps in the process, add or remove people involved, or build in more approval phases or checkpoints.
• Iterate. Continuously update your workflows as you get feedback, scale, and use metrics to determine if they are working. Iterating doesn't mean your workflows were wrong, just that they can be improved (which also makes your workflows more agile).

What Is The Difference Between Workflows & Processes?

A workflow is a set of steps that need to be followed to complete a task, while a process is designed to be followed rigidly in order to achieve a specific outcome.

Compared to processes, workflows are typically more flexible and less formal, as they can be adapted to changing circumstances. They don't necessarily require extensive documentation or approval from multiple stakeholders.

As a result, workflows are often faster and easier to implement than processes. However, processes can be more efficient in certain situations, such as when there is a need for strict compliance with regulations. 

Automating Workflows with Tools & Software

Workflows and the workflow management systems that govern them are often one and the same. Aside from some of the management tools I mentioned above, there are a few more to consider:

• Business process management (BPM) tools are useful for organizing, managing, and updating your most important business processes, as well as carrying out process improvement and workflow mapping (learn more about workflows vs BPM here).
• Workflow apps are useful for scenarios where you need to make a process change but you don't have access to your desktop.

It's always worth having a look at which tools are offering unique and innovative features that might speed up your processes, like AI workflows.