PROCESS DEFINITION IN MICROSOFT DYNAMICS NAV PROCESS MODELING WITH MICROSOFT VISIO WORKFLOW PORTAL AS CENTRAL TOOL FOR MONITORING AND PROCESSING

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1 HIGHLIGHTS PROCESS DEFINITION IN MICROSOFT DYNAMICS NAV PROCESS MODELING WITH MICROSOFT VISIO WORKFLOW PORTAL AS CENTRAL TOOL FOR MONITORING AND PROCESSING TASKS RELEASE MANAGEMENT WORKFLOW TEAMS FIELD SECURITY FOR ENHANCED PROCESS CONTROL INTEGRATION SMS INTEGRATION DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT AD-HOC WORKFLOWS TO INITIATE WORKFLOWS SPONTANEOUSLY WORKFLOW EXPLORER FOR STATUS MONITORING OF PROCESSES AND TO ENHANCE TRANSPARENCY Tectura Workflow Management

2 PAGE 2 OPTIMIZE TEAMWORK Tectura Workflow provides a solution for process management so that your organization s flow of business and progress of work is highly effective - meeting your specific requirements. Workflows and the associated business logic and dependencies can be modeled directly in Microsoft Dynamics NAV or Microsoft Visio. executes these workflows automatically on the basis of events and freely-definable conditions. Tasks are created for the teams in your organization whose proper and on-schedule processing can be ensured by the application. Conventional operational manuals have great disadvantages compared to an electronic workflow solution; they quickly become obsolete and do not offer the certainty that processes are being executed in accordance with how you have defined them for your company. Adjustments of the Microsoft Dynamics NAV standard solution to permit individual corporate processes to be mapped are frequently unnecessary when Tectura Workflow is used. Processes are configured within the framework of a new or existing installation and not permanently programmed in the software. This results in a high level of flexibility, which permits a rapid response to new market requirements or internal modifications to the organization. The use of Tectura Workflow enables you to run processes in parallel in your company. Employees can organize their work better and consequently handle their tasks more efficiently. This contributes to enhancing the quality of your products and services. Shorter processing times when dealing with customer inquiries and increased transparency ensure greater customer satisfaction. Initial training of new staff can be considerably simplified using the system both by standardizing the corporate processes and by actively supporting the system when processing tasks. SECURITY AT FIELD LEVEL PREVENTS ERRORS Configuring Field Security Tectura Workflow permits modification rights to be defined at the field level for every table in the system. You can specify which tables and fields are to be monitored by the system. Here you can specify for each field whether the modification rights are to be assigned inclusively or exclusively. With the first variant you only specify the users or roles who/which are entitled to make modifications. With the second variant you specify which users or roles may not make modifications. Depending on the scenario, you can select the variant which entails the least maintenance effort. Field Security Matrix The system offers a matrix form which can be used intuitively and can assign or cancel modification rights for fields by marking the corresponding cell. (SEE FIGURE 1) Highlights: Modification rights at field level Inclusive/exclusive assignment of rights Field security matrix as intuitively operated configuration tool Monitoring Field Security If a user attempts to modify the contents of a field and violates the assigned field rights in doing so, a notice is issued by the system and the field contents are reset. (SEE FIGURE 2)

3 PAGE 3 DEFINITION OF BUSINESS LOGIC AS THE BASIS FOR PROCESSES Conditions In order to guarantee that corporate processes are executed correctly, it is necessary to link the processing of tasks to conditions. You can, for example, transfer execution control for a process to the system. Processes are initiated either manually by the users (ad-hoc workflow) or by an event in the system. When a particular event occurs, the system checks whether one or more of the conditions defined are satisfied. If this is the case, the processes linked to it are triggered. (SEE FIGURE 3) While processes are being processed, predefined tasks are automatically generated by the system and sent to the teams responsible. These tasks are, in turn, linked to conditions which are checked by a user when the tasks are terminated. If such an exit condition cannot be satisfied, the associated task cannot be terminated. This ensures that you achieve a high level of process control. (SEE FIGURE 4) Checking Field Contents Conditions can entail a wide range of complexity. The simplest variant is checking the field contents of a table. Modifying field content below or above a threshold value could be monitored by a condition and, if required, result in a workflow (e.g. modifying the credit limit of one of your customers). Checking Complex Scenarios In order to permit complex scenarios of your company also to be mapped, the system enables you to set up table structures of any required complexity and to perform checks within these structures. The result of the check, i.e. true or false, can be used as part of an entry condition for triggering a process. An exit condition is checked when an attempt is made to terminate a task in the system. User-Dependent Conditions Conditions can be checked on a user-dependent basis. This enables processes to be triggered depending on the user who has triggered a corresponding event. FIGURE 1: FIELD SECURITY MATRIX FIGURE 2: Information for users FIGURE 3: Conditions

4 PAGE 4 TASK TEMPLATES FORM THE BUILDING BLOCKS FOR YOUR PROCESSES Task Templates Task templates form the building blocks for processes. Workflows can be compiled from task templates, and dependencies can be defined between them. When a process is executed, task templates are converted into tasks and assigned to the relevant teams in your organization. (SEE FIGURE 5) Operating Instructions The related work is described in a task template, thus enabling the user to perform this work properly. In addition, operating instructions can be stored as a further document in which the task is described down to the last detail. (SEE FIGURE 6) Assignment of Any Required Objects for Processing To process a task, you can assign all the screen masks which are available in the system. For example, whether you process the article master record with the same or a different screen mask could differ from task to task. It is also possible to assign a report to process a task (e.g. in order to be able to take a particular decision). Categorization Task templates can be assigned to a category. This enables you to structure the required work in advance. When a large number of tasks are involved, this makes it easier to process the messages received. Due Date A due date formula can be assigned to a task template. This is then used by the system to calculate a due date for a specific task. Process-Related Field Security If you want to ensure that particular fields are modified only in the context of a process, you can link these fields to a task template. Users can then only modify such a field if they have already received a corresponding task. EFFICIENT CONTROL OF YOUR CORPORATE PROCESSES Workflows Workflows are the central element of process management. They consist of task templates and conditions. When an event (e.g. the insertion or modification of a record) occurs in the system, the system checks the conditions you have defined and, when FIGURE 4: Link between Forms FIGURE 5: Task Template Figure 6: Operating Instruction

5 PAGE 5 required, initiates a workflow if the entry condition for the process has been satisfied. Initiation of a workflow triggers a chain of tasks which can be dependent on each other. When, for example, a user ends a task, this can result in another task being triggered. Multiple tasks can also be generated in parallel for a workflow. Each task is assigned to a team as part of a workflow. The team concerned receives messages when new tasks need to be processed. (SEE FIGURE 7) Release Management In the area of release management, conditions can be defined which require particular release levels. A release workflow and the associated release hierarchy allow even complex release requirements to be automated efficiently. Categorization Workflows can be categorized to permit the data created to be used, if necessary, for further process analyses at a later date. For instance, a report about the average throughput times of the various workflow categories could be created to obtain information for further optimization. FLEXIBILITY AND TRANSPARENCY, REGARDLESS OF WHERE YOU ARE Workflow Context Menu The workflow context menu enables the user to utilize the workflow functionality at any point in the system. The form is opened using a key combination, and the individual options can be selected. (SEE FIGURE 8) Workflow Explorer The Workflow Explorer enables you to display existing workflows for a particular record. If, for example, you are in a task which is to be processed according to a particular procedure, you can use the Workflow Explorer to obtain a picture of the current processing status. You can, for instance, check which of the tasks has already been terminated and view which team is currently dealing with the operation. Ad-Hoc Workflows In addition to the workflows which the system generates automatically, you can also trigger workflows manually. If, for example, a user does not have the right to modify a customer s address but detects an error, a corresponding Figure 7: Workflows Figure 8: Workflow Context Menu Figure 9: Forwarding

6 PAGE 6 workflow can be initiated which results in Financial Accounting receiving a task to modify the record concerned. Forwarding A record can be sent to a team or a user in a message without a form. The recipient receives the message and can immediately view the record concerned, for example to answer another user s question. (SEE FIGURE 9) Document Management You can link every record with as many documents as you want using the workflow context menu. During configuration you can decide whether documents are to be stored in the database itself or on a central file server. Document Network Documents which have been linked to a record at one point in the system can automatically be displayed at other points by defining connections between different data sets. This prevents redundant data storage of documents or duplicated linking of documents. ALWAYS KEEP AN EYE ON YOUR OBJECTIVE Workflow Portal The Workflow Portal is your central tool for processing tasks which you have been assigned by the system or other users. Whenever you receive new tasks, you are sent a message by the system. (SEE FIGURE 10) Context-Based Task Processing When you want to process a task, you can go directly from the Workflow Portal to the context concerned. You consequently do not need to search for a particular record first or open the corresponding form for processing. Just one mouse click and the system takes you directly to the place where you need to perform your work. Integration You can choose whether you also want to receive tasks by . In this case, too, you can click on a hyperlink which is attached to the , and the Workflow Portal will open automatically. Without needing to navigate you can then access the information immediately. Figure 7: Workflows Figure 8: Workflow Context Menu Figure 9: Forwarding

7 Workflow in the Company Safely Under Control with Tectura A Solution for PAGE 7 SMS Integration If required, a mobile phone number can be stored for each user so that messages can also be sent by SMS. Freely-definable scenarios enable you to be informed automatically, even when you are not at your workstation (e.g. about particular incoming tasks, exceeded credit limits, changed deadlines, etc.). Processing Control The Workflow System is based on teams, and a task can be sent to more than one user simultaneously. To prevent processing from being duplicated, the system saves the time at which a particular user began processing a task. When other users attempt to continue or start processing, they receive a warning or an error message (configurable). PROCESS DESIGN USING DRAG & DROP Microsoft Visio Integration can consequently immediately be put into practice. (SEE FIGURE 11) Microsoft Visio Templates Special templates are available for designing your processes. These templates contain Microsoft Visio Shapes which you can interlink on a Microsoft Visio worksheet. (SEE FIGURE 12) Bi-Directional Interface The core function of the Visio interface is the data flow from Microsoft Visio to. However, you can also transfer particular elements from Microsoft Dynamics NAV to Microsoft Visio: e.g. users, tables, forms, and also reports so that these can then be used for process modeling. About Tectura Tectura is a worldwide provider of business consulting services providing sustainable value through consulting, software and IT implementation. Our clientele include mid-sized companies and larger enterprises throughout the Americas, EMEA, and Asia Pacific. With team members in 20+ countries, Tectura applies its comprehensive industry knowledge and unparalleled experience in collaboration with our clients to deliver business and technology strategies and solutions designed to achieve their business performance goals. Learn more at You can create the workflow elements described above in Microsoft Visio and interlink elements. In this way you can therefore create a complete workflow in graphical form and then export it to. Results from a process analysis in your company FOR MORE INFORMATION info@tectura.com For local office contact information visit , 2008 Tectura Corporation. All rights reserved. Tectura is a registered trademark of Tectura Corporation. All other company, brand, and product names are marks of their respective holders. This solution overview is for informational purposes only. TECTURA MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY. Workflow_OV_Master_200806B