What is a Workflow?

While having a discussion with one of my colleagues, I found his interpretation of workflow quite interesting. There are myths around workflow. Many people relate workflow with software requirement requiring decision making such as approval/rejection etc.

However, this is how workroom and workflow was described:

• As part of my daily activities, I may need to get into a workroom and see all that needs to be achieved on that day. Each of the tasks can be called as “output” that needs to be achieved.
• The “output” will require a set of input and, a set of activities to be performed in order to be achieved. The set of activities can also be termed as “process”.
• As these activities are related to business, these are called as “business processes”. So, to achieve an output, I need to determine a set of “business processes” and inputs.
• Each of these “business processes” comprises of set of activities. These activities (can also be termed as work) have to be performed in an order or a “flow” to produce the output or the product.
• Thus, each business process may have a workflow associated with it.

Simply speaking,

Set of Inputs => Set of activities (Workflow representing a business process)  => Output