Use Case ≈ Workflow + Definition
Point of care workflow automation, let’s look at a use case.
What is a use case? In Wiki, it says, “A use case is a list of steps to finding interactions between a role, such as a physician or a nurse or someone in the health records department, and a system, such as an information system, to achieve a goal.”
That sounds kind of familiar to me, sounds a lot like my definition, a workflow is a series of steps consuming resources, which I think is implied by a use case, to achieve a goal. The difference is, the use case is a list of steps, whereas workflow is the steps themselves.
Well, what about a workflow definition? A definition is a short description of a thing by its properties. The most essential definition of workflow is the list of steps. A use case and a workflow definition are approximately similar to each other and that’s part of the secret to the sauce, the fact that a use case could be a drawing of stick figures interacting with a system over time or a pseudo-English description. It’s also a workflow definition, which can be executed and improved by a computer.
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BPM Solutions
Process Orchestration Engine (AKA workflow engine) to drive the progression of work in structured and unstructured processes or cases
Model-Driven Composition environment for designing processes and their supporting activities and process artifacts
Content Interaction Management supporting e progression of work, especially cases, based on changes in the content itself (documents, images and audio)
Human Interaction Management enables people to naturally interact with processes they're involved in
Connected Processes and Resources they control, such as people, systems, data, event streams, goals and key performance indicators (KPIs)
Continuous Analytics monitor activity progress, and analyze activities and changes in and around processes
On-Demand Analytics to provide decision support using predictive analytics and optimization
Business Rule Management systems guide and implement process agility and ensure compliance
Management and Administration monitor and adjust technical aspects of BPM platform
Process Component Registry/Repository for process component leverage and reuse
Cloud-Based Deployment of about features and functions across desktop platforms and mobile devices
Social Media Compatible external and/or similar internal activity streams integrated with workflows
*Adapted from Gartner