Library clips :: March

March 23, 2009

Workflow 2.0

The other day I posted about conversations around task objects, in reference to using web 2.0 tools to not just share in general, but to do down and dirty work. And in the past I’ve posted about using a combination of blogs, forums and wikis to coordinate a process.

What I’m now looking for is the middle ground; first we had rigid tools, and now we have totally unstructured tools. What I want to do is be able to connect some web 2.0 tools like lego to create a type of workflow that coordinates a process.

So far I have assembled blogs and wikis into a DIY workflow to coordinate a process, but they are not explicitly connected.

I’ve alluded to this before on a post I made about current tools having blog and wiki-like features, just like everything has an email this or print this button.

Something like Ning has been the first step where you can build your own social network, so I guess I’m looking for a similar tool to build a workflow eg. I may want to build something like Zapproved, or perhaps a support team process from logging a call to a solution.

I haven’t researched into this, but what has come across my radar is using a wiki as a DIY workflow…I guess some wikis nowadays go beyond simple HTML pages, you now get themed/template type pages.

James Robertson writes that most workflows aren’t totally effective as they don’t cater for the complexities for each context and situation.

But if we can make these workflows flexible and slightly change them to suit a context or a group of people, and to be able to adapt to freak things that happen in particular situations then this may be a middle ground.
- usually we adapt working around a process by using email

Some tools I have come across Workflow Perfect, and Thingamy.

These differ to Lotus Connections Activities and Basecamp which are more task management, rather than stitching together a process.

Perhaps my prescriptive approach is going backwards here, but I feel that being able to contextualise the workflow by actually changing the building blocks is very web 2.0. Not only can it be a read/write web, but it can also be a read/build web.

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