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.
![email.png](http://services.nexodyne.com/email/icon/GxbiQvgbwBgCnw%3D%3D/oIp%2BJMQ%3D/R01haWw%3D/0/image.png"){kind=icon}
Two observations from my experiences:
1. Wikis make great prototyping tools for website & process design. You work out what information you need to display and therefore what you need to collection. A few of you do the process manually and collaboratively on the wiki for a few iterations and after that you have a much better idea of elements, process, workflow, inputs & presentation.
2. Zoho & Google forms are starting to offer some basic workflow collection & presentation options. With Sharepoint, K2 offers some impressive functionality (and they’ve just released a version that’s Confluence-affordable) around workflow mgt.
It’s worth checking out BPMN as well…
Comment by Matt Moore — March 24, 2009 @ 9:14 am
Great Matt. At the moment for some coordination tasks I do use a combo of wikis and blogs with subscription notifications to prompt people, and comments to discuss. And now I’m thinking about making this workflow more formal I guess.
I like your bit about using a wiki to design/trial a flow.
Wikis as final product or just a tool to design a final product (the true double nature of wikis)
Comment by John Tropea — March 24, 2009 @ 12:29 pm
This is very interesting, John. Sharepoint has very basic workflow features. Could you use their workflow features for workflow management between wiki’s and blogs? This is something I’m working on in the company I work for. We have heavy, formal tools to manage product data. These tools are very good at relating data/information, managing changes/workflow, etc. Typically stuff that web 2.0 tools are usually not so good at. I’m wondering if we could combine these two worlds in some way.
Comment by Samuel — March 27, 2009 @ 4:23 pm
Thx Samuel,
I do have some tasks which I coordinate with a blog and wiki, but the blog and the wiki are not related in a explicit workflow. If someone else came along they would not see the workflow…they would not see any connectors, and if they interacted they would not get a prompt that instructs them to move from one to the other.
Web 2.0 is great to design the components, and make them flexible to suit our needs, but now we need to connect them into a process.
I kind of want to crystallise what I’m doing informally, so an outsider can understand.
Comment by John Tropea — March 29, 2009 @ 7:47 am