K eyw ords business process, productivity, system architecture, information technology A bstract. Recent information technological advances have led to the work ow system that provides an eå ective technical solution for productivity improvement and business process reengineering. Work ow is a network of activities, also commonly known as a business process, de ned for a speci c business objective. The fundamental principle of work ow technology is the separation of business process from ( software) applications and data. This implies a exible, adaptable system that can support dynamic business changes. This exibility, however, is not built upon complexity. Instead, the system should be easily modi ed for a new business environment. On the other hand, a good work ow system facilitates individual tasks, and collectively the entire business process by providing accurate inputs ( data, forms tools) and eå ective routing control.Work ow technology has a wide range of applications and, when appropriately implemented, can increase productivity, reduce operating costs, improve response to customer requests and shorten the business process cycle. A great opportunity for a company is in evidence to advance its competition edge to a new level through implementation of work ow technology in the next few years. This paper discusses work ow environments, system components, architecture, integrated applications for external program execution, and future trends.
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