[Work Management Software] Things to Consider

Gone are those days when everything had to be done manually. Today, with the many benefits brought about by various technological advancements, both in the hardware and software side of things, repetitive tasks (meaning, those that do not usually require human touch) can be easily automated, through work management software, bringing about a considerable surge in productivity.

Before we further proceed though, first things first. Workflow, as defined by Wikipedia, is a sequence of connected steps, the goal of which is an end result that meets or exceeds pre-approved standards. Workflow management, therefore, is the efficient administration of a work sequence through the use of tools, online or otherwise.

The problem with automation

As you probably have already guessed, there is this app called workflow automation software. And if you take time to Google around, you're sure to come up with a good number of them – from administrative to industrial functions, from bug tracking to sales and marketing, among so many other things.

The problem, however, with most automation software (or most productivity tools, for that matter), they are pre-written for a specific purpose. As a result, you're left with three options:

1. Continue doing things manually, regardless of the costs associated with task redundancies and errors.
2. Force pre-written software to work for your company's specific needs, which means steep learning curve and the possibility of having to do away with other tools your company may already be using.
3. Invest in customized solutions that can be very costly.

Characteristics of the ideal workflow management software

When investing in workflow management software, the following characteristics should at all times be considered:

1. Your workflow management software should be flexible

Flexibility in any environment is an asset. A good workflow management software is one that possesses the ability to adapt to changes without having to disrupt the current workflow sequence. The ideal automation application should, therefore, allow you to formulate your workflow sequence and make changes later, if and when the need crops up.

2. Your workflow management software should be easy to use

Coding isn't for everyone. Even if your chosen automation software has flexibility as its number one characteristic, if it's not easy to tweak, meaning, you have to learn geek speak to be able to do the tweaking on your own, it's probably not worth your time and attention. A good workflow management application should be easy enough to use that all you need to do is drag and drop items in the dashboard.

3. Your workflow management software should have the ability to be integrated with third-party applications

Third-party applications like MS Outlook or CRM software should be easily integrated into your workflow automation software, especially if these applications are tools your company heavily relies on. You wouldn't want to ditch the tools that you know work in favor of one that you haven't tried and tested yet, right?

Attached image source: Wikimedia