The Workflow Imperative: Building Real World Business Solutions [Hardcover]

Thomas M. Koulopoulos (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 29, 1995

the Workflow Imperative Building Real World Business Solutions Thomas M. Koulopoulos Do your competitors lure your customers away as you sit with yesterday’s market information buried in the in box? Sluggish information systems can sandbag an operation and leave you at a disadvantage while companies with automated workflow environments are responding faster and hitting the market with products that customers want, when they want them. Now you can break the paper chain phenomena and build a lean and responsive business with the business process technology that everyone is talking about: automated workflow. Workflow technology has revolutionized the way modern businesses manage information, allowing individuals to engineer change based on continual, instantaneous feedback. This popular new technology works hand-in-glove with Total Quality Management (TQM) and will allow you to:

• Slash process cycle time
• Accelerate product innovation
• Increase customer responsiveness

Written by the industry’s leading authority on workflow, The Workflow Imperative explains workflow automation in simple, clear, and easy-to-understand terms. The book contains everything you need to know, plan, and manage both the workflow process and the technology. You’ll learn about the history of workflow, its impact on conventional business models, its relationship to reengineering, as well as the technology itself. You’ll be able to quickly and easily define your organization’s workflow requirements by using one of several methods of analysis presented in the book. Which type of reengineering is for you? Case studies of actual implementations illustrate options, plus the author explains how to combine any of four development methods and three process models so you can customize the application that’s best for you. You’ll also get plenty of help evaluating the myriad of workflow applications flooding today’s market. The author details exactly what each workflow component will and will not do, so you can tailor your choice to fit your organization and its existing technological needs. Whether you’re looking for solutions to support reengineering or just want to simplify information management, The Workflow Imperative has the answers you need in a language you can understand.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

About the Author Thomas M. Koulopoulos, President and Founder of Delphi Consulting Group, is an internationally known lecturer and consultant, and developer of the Time-based Analysis method, which he has taught to more than 2000 organizations. Recognized world wide as the industry authority on the subject of workflow and technologies for business process redesign, he was named one of the top six consultants in the information industry by Information Week magazine. His insights and frequent commentary on workflow, in publications such as ComputerWorld, BusinessWeek, Byte, and PC Magazine, have also made him one of the industry’s most sought after speakers, with lectures and seminars around the world.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (March 29, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471286850
• ISBN-13: 978-0471286851
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,613,635 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

If you're looking for details go to my web page at http://www.tkspeaks.com

If you want the essentials here they are:

About me:
I've spent 30 years living at the intersection of busines and IT, from tech junky to Inc. 500 CEO to senior leader for a $2Billion company. These experiences have developed my core competency in writing and speaking on the social, organizational and human impact of technology. However, I'm not a technology bigot. I believe strongly in the importance of leadership, core behaviors, organizational and cultural values in leveraging technology. The real opportunities and challenges for organizations, and in life, are tied directly to understanding human behavior and culture.

I'm not a Luddite, but....
... I have a 1920's L C Smith Corona, a 1940's Graflex, and an original Nuremberg Chronicle (CIRCA 1493) on display in my library - all to remind me that our generation has no monopoly on great ideas.


About my writing:
- It's about people. I focus on the human condition first and foremost.
- It's about the context of change. No problem or solution is entirely new. There is always a historical precedent that we can use to guide our thinking.
- It's based on experience and practical observations. Dogma is fun but you can't feed yourself with it.
- It's about simplicity. I believe that even the most complex ideas can be made simple. The simpler they are the more likely they are to empower people to apply them.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good place to start, June 30, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Workflow Imperative: Building Real World Business Solutions (Hardcover)

I attended the author's seminar and recieved the book. It won't tell you how to implement workflow in your organization, but it will tell you how to put a value to it and suggest a process to get the benefits in your organization. There is alot of work required to reap the benefits of workflow, but the payback can be enormous.

Read it!