I just had a long conversation with a guy at work regarding technology. I know, a geek talking about tech isn't a surprise. I've long maintained that the way we interact with computers is forced and non-intuitive. I like to say that while we live in a three dimensional world, computers force us to interact in a two dimensional way. I've had an idea percolating in my head for over a decade now regarding that. I actually bought 2 Nintendo PowerGloves to help me create a proof of concept. But our conversation really only touched that before going in a slightly different direction.
We talked about how people interact in a business world, and how the technology that is available (albeit sometimes in separate pieces) if utilized better, can have a drastic impact on productivity. We discussed how people use their individual desktops - not on their computer but their actual physical desktop. Often there are stacks of folders, papers, manuals etc. A large majority still use pen and paper to capture many of their ideas and then have to go through several steps to convert that into an electronic version.
For an example, I'm asked to design a new application. I'm given some quick details and that's it. Currently, I go to my desk, get out a pen and paper and start writing/drawing. I'll write out the data that needs to be captured and shown. I then draw out a user interface to interact with the data. I then have to take that drawing over and show the interested parties to get their approval. This often leads to changes to the drawing which can make a mess. This step sometimes has to get repeated a couple times before everyone is satisfied. I then create the database and then get down to the programming. And this would be for a relatively minor application. The larger and more complicated an application gets, the longer these steps would take and the more collaboration required to resolve everything.
Imagine if you will an alternative. I have an electronic desktop. Not on my computer - but an actual desktop surface. I can draw on it as I would on paper but it's 100% electronic. It would change the above scenario. I gather the notes, write out the data as above. But I do the drawing on this new desktop and then gather the parties to review the UI and I could make changes to it in real time - as natural as drawing on a piece of paper. Or potentially, share my "desktop" so we would all see/work on the same drawing.
Seems limited use as a programmer maybe. But look at other business aspects. Flowcharting, business meetings, all these types of things could be done in a much more natural way and as important - SHARED in a much more natural way.
Technology has advanced to a point where we can really change how we interact with our environment. There is no longer a need to be tied down to working in a 2 dimensional way. We can make a change, and definitely for the better. Imagine if we were all able to share a version of our desks, have an instant scan of a document/page that would be shared with anyone else. Forget the archaic NetMeeting etc. Sharing ideas in real time would improve productivity drastically. Forget having to travel around the world, or having projects being put on hold until someone travels to resolve an issue. Imagine being able to provide needed information and details hundreds of miles away. Discussing engineering changes, instead of taking weeks of work to determine what it would require and what the changes would affect - as well as the time to have that information passed around, it could take moments. Imagine physically using your hands to grab a component and moving it over and seeing in an instance how it would change the layout of everything - and sharing that view with all parties at the same time. No longer requiring emails to pass back and forth etc. Everyone sees the same thing, at the same time.
Technology has such phenomenal potential, if it would only be taken advantage of. There are companies that live on the cutting edge - a local company Smart Technologies development an innovative Smart Board that was a drastic change on how meeting can be conducted. Microsoft has a DigiDesk that comes close to what I envision - not that I can find very much information on it. And really, I'd be nervous about this type of product coming from Microsoft. But wow does it look cool.
More later...
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Friday, February 20, 2009
LiveLink - Workflow Training (223)
I was looking forward to this course and it didn’t disappoint me. The whole point of workflow is to automate a process and it does that very well. What is Workflow you ask? It’s an automated system that will push tasks/documents etc through a pre-defined process. It’s capable to sending emails and notifications and can also create a pre-defined folder structure (including files).
The key of course is that the process needs to be designed and planned out well. This was stressed but it was also acknowledged that it is often only ½ done, if at all. Depending on the individuals/departments involved, the design is often skipped so they can just jump right in and start setting up the workflow.
I’m of the school where I understand and believe in the benefits of designing and planning a process before attempting to implement it. But I also know that there are many people, departments and corporations that run with the credo of: “Never time to do it right. Always time to do it over”. I have the fortune to have a boss that understands and supports me so I have the opportunity to plan and then implement.
But to get back on track, while you can just jump in and start setting up your workflow, it’s usually best to at least get a rough outline of what you want the workflow to do. Once you have that done it’s remarkably easy to setup a workflow to go through. You have a section of objects or steps – Initiator, User/Group, Evaluation, Process, Item Handler, Sub Map, Form Task and Milestone. You basically drag the steps you need onto the painter screen and then drag them together to make the correct linking paths.
Initiator: A wild card step that recognizes the user that initiated the workflow – used to assign that particular step to the initiator.
User/Group: A step assigned to particular users or groups to perform a specified action.
Evaluation: A routing step based on a True/False condition – often fed from the previous step that requires an Initiator or User/Group input.
Process: A step to send an email, add comments or update workflow attributes automatically
Item Handler: A step to manage attachments (folders, documents) and attributes automatically.
Sub Map: This step will send the entire work package through to another workflow and then returns with relevant information.
Form Task: This step displays a specific form to task recipients – the entire work package will not necessarily be available at this step.
Milestone: This step acts as a marker for a pre-defined milestone – often used with an evaluation step to catch whether milestones are being met. It is the sole step that is evaluated AFTER the evaluation step.
Once you have the steps all setup, you can start customizing each one – determining its attributes etc.
It’s very important to remember to verify the workflow map – it has a menu option on the MAP menu – Verify Map Definition. This will help ensure that you’ve correctly setup all the links etc.
You can track all instances of a particular workflow by going to the main map and click Status – it will list all workflow instances using this map. Workflow maps can have versions but you are not able to change a version and then push that change to existing workflow instances. You are able to edit an existing instance though – if you suspend it you can then modify its map and then turn it back on. This has the limitations of course and it’s recommended to have the workflow working properly before initializing it.
Once a workflow instance is completed – options to delete or archive become available. Deleting will delete everything related to that instance. Each workflow has its own attachments directory and deleting the workflow will delete that directory but will not reach out and deleted directories/files elsewhere in the system. IE: You have an Item Handler step that creates some directories and it moves any files the users attached to those directories – deleting the Workflow will delete the original attachments directory but will not affect the directories/files that it moved.
You can export/import workflows as well. Exporting will let you save the workflow to a .MAP file. In order to import you have to create a new blank workflow and then select Import from its function menu. You can then select the file you need to import. You have the option to either Reset Performers or Maintain Performers. Reset performers will reset all performers except for initiators. You will then have to go to each relevant step and select the performer users/groups. Selection Maintain performers will keep all the settings as is – but this will only work if you import to the same instance of Live Link. The exact same users/groups must exist and separate instances, even with the same users, will not necessarily match.
The key of course is that the process needs to be designed and planned out well. This was stressed but it was also acknowledged that it is often only ½ done, if at all. Depending on the individuals/departments involved, the design is often skipped so they can just jump right in and start setting up the workflow.
I’m of the school where I understand and believe in the benefits of designing and planning a process before attempting to implement it. But I also know that there are many people, departments and corporations that run with the credo of: “Never time to do it right. Always time to do it over”. I have the fortune to have a boss that understands and supports me so I have the opportunity to plan and then implement.
But to get back on track, while you can just jump in and start setting up your workflow, it’s usually best to at least get a rough outline of what you want the workflow to do. Once you have that done it’s remarkably easy to setup a workflow to go through. You have a section of objects or steps – Initiator, User/Group, Evaluation, Process, Item Handler, Sub Map, Form Task and Milestone. You basically drag the steps you need onto the painter screen and then drag them together to make the correct linking paths.
Initiator: A wild card step that recognizes the user that initiated the workflow – used to assign that particular step to the initiator.
User/Group: A step assigned to particular users or groups to perform a specified action.
Evaluation: A routing step based on a True/False condition – often fed from the previous step that requires an Initiator or User/Group input.
Process: A step to send an email, add comments or update workflow attributes automatically
Item Handler: A step to manage attachments (folders, documents) and attributes automatically.
Sub Map: This step will send the entire work package through to another workflow and then returns with relevant information.
Form Task: This step displays a specific form to task recipients – the entire work package will not necessarily be available at this step.
Milestone: This step acts as a marker for a pre-defined milestone – often used with an evaluation step to catch whether milestones are being met. It is the sole step that is evaluated AFTER the evaluation step.
Once you have the steps all setup, you can start customizing each one – determining its attributes etc.
It’s very important to remember to verify the workflow map – it has a menu option on the MAP menu – Verify Map Definition. This will help ensure that you’ve correctly setup all the links etc.
You can track all instances of a particular workflow by going to the main map and click Status – it will list all workflow instances using this map. Workflow maps can have versions but you are not able to change a version and then push that change to existing workflow instances. You are able to edit an existing instance though – if you suspend it you can then modify its map and then turn it back on. This has the limitations of course and it’s recommended to have the workflow working properly before initializing it.
Once a workflow instance is completed – options to delete or archive become available. Deleting will delete everything related to that instance. Each workflow has its own attachments directory and deleting the workflow will delete that directory but will not reach out and deleted directories/files elsewhere in the system. IE: You have an Item Handler step that creates some directories and it moves any files the users attached to those directories – deleting the Workflow will delete the original attachments directory but will not affect the directories/files that it moved.
You can export/import workflows as well. Exporting will let you save the workflow to a .MAP file. In order to import you have to create a new blank workflow and then select Import from its function menu. You can then select the file you need to import. You have the option to either Reset Performers or Maintain Performers. Reset performers will reset all performers except for initiators. You will then have to go to each relevant step and select the performer users/groups. Selection Maintain performers will keep all the settings as is – but this will only work if you import to the same instance of Live Link. The exact same users/groups must exist and separate instances, even with the same users, will not necessarily match.
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