This document provides a detailed list of WorkflowGen features and technical requirements, as well as information on configurations and scalability, and examples of usage metrics.

User Portal

• 100% web-based .NET 4 application

• Single sign-on and seamless automatic authentication

• Intuitive — no training required

• Interface supports multiple languages (double-byte compliant)

• Users can change language, time zone, and password directly within the Portal

• Customized workflow portal based on user rights and preferences

• Smart portal with summary of current user activity for all processes (ongoing, to do, late, closed, etc.)

• Add processes and views to favorites list for fast access

• Real-time monitoring with graphical view of the workflows

• Direct access to statistics and reports with graphical views

• Quickly access the forms with the Quick View feature

• Approve dozens of requests in seconds with the Quick Mass Approval feature

• Comprehensive audit trail

• Post and follow user comments for ongoing requests

• Fast switching from user to manager mode for additional privileges and rights

• Single- or multi-process view

• Multiple-criteria search for requests and actions

• Direct access to specific requests (quick search)

• Multiple sort options for actions and requests

• Use form data as search criteria

• Customize the display of workflow data

• Automatic detection of URLs and email addresses

• Sort columns of statistics, search results, and follow-ups with a simple drag-and-drop

• Delegation of tasks for user-defined period of time

• Display common process data in User Portal lists and multi-process quick search

• Common process data are supported in the follow-up and statistics tab

Dashboard

• From the Views list on the User Portal home page, click the View icons to display the views (grids, charts, statistics) in floating panels that you can arrange according to your needs

Alerts

• Event-based email notification (to do, to assign, delay, request closed, etc.)

• Text or HTML format email notifications

• Email notifications, including attachments

• Customizable email templates

eForms

• Fill out forms online within the web browser

• Use web forms (supports AJAX)

• Form fields integration with external applications and databases

• Attach files to forms

Advanced View

Advanced View enables users to easily create rich customized reports by using process data.

• Access Advanced View from the Search tab

• Sort and filter data via the column header

• Group data with a simple column header drag-and-drop

• Reorganize columns

Charts

• Advanced View reports can be displayed as charts (column, bar, pie, etc.) and shared as views

• The Custom Charts feature lets you create customized charts using JavaScript and any chart library

Customization

• Manage customized views (search results, statistics)

• Add links to external web contents to provide additional information

• Add a custom application top banner

• Embed workflow portal in existing applications

Data persistence

• Store workflow data (text, numeric, date, time) in Microsoft SQL Server

• Store associated files on the current server, on a remote file server, or within the database system

• Database size and network bandwidth usage optimized

Export

• Export process and form data anytime at runtime

• Documented SQL views to directly query the database

• Ready-to-use SQL server DTS job to replicate workflow data into another database

Backup

• Standard SQL backup for data stored in the database

• Standard file server backup for file data

• Option to store process file data (including attachments) in the database to perform online backup without service interruption

WorkflowGen Plus lets users who have implemented the WorkflowGen BPM/workflow software on their corporate web servers access the WorkflowGen portal and perform their workflow actions remotely via their iOS and Android devices. These apps are available free to all WorkflowGen users.

Requests screen

• Display requests you can launch sorted by category

• End-user and administration modules available in English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese

• Multilingual form management

• Double-byte compliance

• Multiple time zone management

• Editable resource files for easy creation of additional languages

Web server

• Standard backup for web application

• Standard backup for data files on the server (must be synchronized with database backup)

Database server

• Standard database server backup

Facilitate administration of common process data

• Global list management lets authorized users easily create and manage lists of data via the WorkflowGen web administration module for use in different process forms.

• Global data lists can be created manually, imported, or defined via a connection from an existing third-party database. They are then used by the process managers who can bind them in their forms and workflows without programming, regardless of their administration rights.

• Enterprise-relevant data not necessarily managed in an ERP or CRM can enrich company workflows with a decentralized administration to the managers of these data themselves.

Global list administration

• Create a new list

• Define elements and columns in a list (text, date, and numeric formats)

• Import a list from a file or by copy/paste

• Create a list from an SQL query or a connection string

Global list uses

• Bind a list from a field of combo/list type via the WorkflowGen built-in form designer

• Connect lists

• Sort items in lists

• Link lists with other lists or form fields

Unleash form features

• Use the graphical interface of Microsoft Visual Web Developer Express or Visual Studio

• Start from scratch or reuse the .NET code generated on-the-fly by the WorkflowGen built-in form designer

Operating systems

• Windows Server 2012 or later (all releases)

• Windows 10 / 11 (recommended for development environments only)

• Ready-to-use statistics and scoreboards with graphics

• Export to CSV format

• Generate statistics by using workflow data as criteria

Authentication methods

• Azure Active Directory

• AD FS 2016

• Auth0

• Okta

• Microsoft Identity Platform v2.0

• Integrated Windows or IIS Basic (Active Directory)

• Applicative (WorkflowGen)

• Forms

• Custom (SSO: single sign-on)

Directory synchronization

• Azure Active Directory

• Active Directory (supports all releases of Windows Server 2012)

• LDAP-compatible directory

• Text files

Authentication

• One-way hashing password mode for greater security

• Automatic account locking function after specified number of failed login attempts

• Password reset function for lost or forgotten passwords

• OIDC-compliant Azure Active Directory, AD FS 2016, Auth0, Okta, and Microsoft Identity Platform v2.0 authentication

• Active Directory authentication (basic or integrated)

• Applicative authentication (passwords are managed in a database)

• LDAP directory authentication

• Integration with existing single sign-on system

• Directory synchronization

• Timeout sessions supported

• Logout management

Communication

• SSL encryption

Forms

• Secure access to form fields based upon profile and action

• Create global participants shared by multiple workflows

• Role-based workflow participants

• Use multiple profiles to grant access to the features of the product

• Define participants as single users, groups, coordinators, or directories

• Enable process supervisors to reassign actions, cancel requests, view statistics

• Limit process supervisor scope for specific requests

• Enable user rights on request comments

Process design

• 100% web-based .NET 4 application

• Implement workflows graphically in HTML5 without programming

• Process data management (text, numeric, date, time, file)

• Action management (human, automatic, sub-process)

• Notification management (customizable event-based notifications)

• Application management (eForms, import/export, web services, alerts, etc.)

• Roles associated with users and/or groups and/or directories

• Category management (organize processes by category)

• Display automatic report of process definition with debug feature

• Compliance with Workflow Management Coalition (WfMC) standards

• Test workflows on production server

Process management

• Organize processes within secured folders for easy decentralization

• Delegate process administration per folder

• Import/export process definition in XPDL (XML-based standard)

• One-click deployment of processes from development to production server

Portal integration

• Integrate ready-to-use workflow portlets into the User Portal via XML RSS technology

• Add links to third-party applications to directly launch workflows

Instant form creation

• Fully web-based — no plugins required

• Seamless integration in WorkflowGen

The growth of the database and the file repository content (for form archives, form state content, and document attachments, if used) is directly related to the number of actions in a process, and the amount of data captured on the forms at each action (each step in the process).

The amount of data captured furthermore depends on if you want to capture the data in all of the actions in detail, or you want to capture only the final copy of the data at the end of each process (the final result). Capturing all action data will provide the ability to trace back in a very granular way to each step in the process to see the data entered at each step. Typically this has an impact requiring about 3 to 10 times more disk space than capturing only the ending result data. Note that even if granular form data in not maintained, WorkflowGen always provides the ability to see who took what step, at what date and time, during the process; only the form data content would be purged for previous steps before the final closing step in the process.

An approximation would be to multiply the number of processes launched, actions per process, and estimates of data capture on a yearly basis.

Email notifications

• Email notifications are sent via SMTP protocols (Exchange and Lotus Notes are compatible)

• Any email client can receive WorkflowGen notifications

• Email layout and content can be customized in HTML or plain text

• Full logging of notifications

XML syndication

• WorkflowGen provides an XML RSS feed (called the “Portlet”) to embed existing web portal with WorkflowGen data

• Sessionless and stateless web application

• No server-side stay-in-memory objects

• File data saved using the file or database system

• Database size is small and network bandwidth usage is optimized

• Deploy WorkflowGen in a web farm environment with load balancing

• Use multiple servers for web applications, files, and databases

• Use a real-time replicated secondary database to reduce server response time (database scaling feature)

Scalability features

Sessionless and stateless web application

• Totally compliant with load balancing and web farm architectures

• Improves web server memory usage

Product tuning

WorkflowGen offers several options to optimize storage size and response time according to your constraints. For example:

• You can reduce the amount of data displayed on the User Portal home page

• You can define process data to keep all the versions of the data value by actions or only the late one

File data storage

You can configure WorkflowGen to store file data in the database or in the file system. Database storage simplifies the file data administration and backup (without interruption of service).

File system storage provides the following benefits:

• Optimizes the database size and database server CPU load

• Reduces the network bandwidth usage between the web server and the database server

• File data can be stored in a local or remote folder

Web farm

WorkflowGen supports web farm configuration; you can set up two or more web servers to handle workflow requests. Web farm configuration improves the performance and offers high availability.

Database scaling

WorkflowGen provides a unique way to dramatically improve the response time of your processes thanks to database farms. In addition to the primary WorkflowGen database, you can set up another read-only database that is replicated with the primary database in close to real time. WorkflowGen will forward the read-only SQL queries to the replica database, and because there are more “read” queries than “write” commands, product performance is dramatically improved.

Database scaling is supported only with SQL Server databases.

Unlimited scalability

For heavy usage with thousands of transactions per hour, you can combine the previous features to build a highly scalable BPM architecture; for example:

• Two load-balanced web servers

• One primary database server

• Two read-only replica database servers

Some clients have implemented WorkflowGen for enterprise-wide usage on a national or global scale. Here are four examples of usage provided by some of them.

Example 1

• Type of processes: Key enterprise financial processes, IT processes

• Average number of requests per year: 105,000

• Number of active users: 180,000

• Number of live processes: 22

• Third-party integration: Oracle 11i eBusiness Suite

• Servers: 3 Windows 2008 R2 Standard Edition 64-bit servers 8X32

• Database: 70 GB

• SQL Server 2008 Cluster, Windows 2008 R2 Enterprise Edition 64-bit 8X32

• Active/Active, read-only function, through SQL replication

• Network F5 load balancer

• File storage: NetApp v6000 Series, 1 TB NetApp disk, RAID 5

Example 2

• Type of processes: Key enterprise processes

• Average number of requests per year: 90,000

• Average number of actions per year: 360,000

• Number of active users: 1850

Example 3

• Type of processes: Marketing campaigns, equipment management, vehicle reservation

• Average number of requests per year: 30,000

• Number of active users: 96,000

• Number of live processes: 16

Example 4

• Type of processes: Human Resources, IT, Corporate Services, Quality, Risk, Core Business

• Average number of requests per year: 82,000

• Number of active users: 4000

• Number of live processes: 23

Ready-to-use customizable applications

• Source code provided

• Doc Export: Exports documents from workflows to an external file server or shared network for archiving

• Doc Listener: Launches a workflow when a document arrives on a file server or shared network

• Mail Listener: Launches a workflow when an email arrives in a specific inbox

Ready-to-use customizable workflow templates

• Workflow definitions and forms provided

• Leave application

• Expense report

• IT clearance application

Methodology and best practices

• Project and change management

• Process inventory

• Process specifications

• Best deployment practices

Directory management

• Creation of multiple directories (for departments, clients, partners, etc.)

• Each user can have more than 20 reusable properties in the workflows

User Portal

Operating systems

• Windows 10 / 11

• macOS

Web browsers

• Edge

• Firefox

• Safari

• Chrome

Display

• 1200 × 800 or higher resolution

Mobile applications

WorkflowGen Plus

• iOS 9.0 or later

• Android 5.0 or later

• WorkflowGen server version 7.9.0 or later

  • Quick Approval requires WorkflowGen server version 7.10.0 or later

WorkflowGen legacy mobile app

• iOS 8.0 or later

• Android 4.1 or later

• WorkflowGen server version 5.5.3 or later installed on a server that can be accessed via a VPN, extranet, or intranet

• WorkflowGen 6.0 or later required to view process graphical follow-up and display custom views

Note: The WorkflowGen Mobile applications are currently not compatible with a WorkflowGen setup that uses form authentication security mode.

Integrated workflow and form designer

Operating systems

• Windows 10 / 11

• macOS

Web browsers

• Edge

• Firefox

• Safari

• Chrome

Display

• 1366 × 768 or higher resolution suggested

Web form developer

• Visual Studio 2013 to 2022 (all editions - Professional recommended)

• Any .NET 4 or later compatible integrated development environment

Operating systems

• Windows 10 / 11

Workflow functions

• Mix human-based and automatic actions in the workflow

• Create any business rules based on workflow data

• Create conditions or exceptions based on workflow data or by using ready-to-use macros

• Customize contents and layout of event-based email notifications (SMTP)

• Automatic escalation based on workflow data

• Enable delegation for workflow participants

• Create complex workflows with sub-processes

• Customize and secure display of data in user interface

• Ready-to-use document validation application

• Attach any kind of file to workflows

• Save-as-draft mode for forms

• Define workflow data stored in database without programming

• Use all assignment methods (automatic, self-service, dynamic, etc.)

• Parallel and/or serial routing

• Automatic synchronization action

• Define lead times for the entire workflow

• Define lead times for each action at design time or runtime

• Launch a workflow from a third-party application

• Unique request IDs for all processes

• Relative request IDs per process and/or per year and month

• Time zone management

• Action completion in background mode

• Action multi-instance management

• Agent actions to automatically trigger and perform large volumes of system actions within multi-application IT ecosystems

• Scheduled frequency system actions

• Automatic cancellation of timed-out system actions

• Integrated Remote Approval service lets users approve requests by email reply from a mobile device

Action assignment methods

• Manual (the current user selects a user to perform the next action)

• Automatic (using workflow data containing the user)

• Self-service (the first member of a team who takes the action handles it)

• By a coordinator who dispatches

Ready-to-use workflow applications

• .NET web form support

• XMLTODATABASE: Export .NET web form data into one or multiple databases

• GETUSERSFROMDIR: Query the directory at runtime to retrieve user list for dynamic assignments and/or email notifications

• XMLTRANS: Transform XML files into other formats (EAI)

Workflow engine

The workflow engine comprises:

• A .NET web application for end-users (User Portal)

• A .NET web application for administrators and process managers

• An SQL relational database containing the process definition, request follow-up, and user management (which can be synchronized with existing directories)

WorkflowGen database

The WorkflowGen database contains:

• User management

• Process definition

• Follow-up information about ongoing and closed processes, as well as significant workflow-related data (approvals, amounts, documents, etc.)

• Files (such as PDF documents) are stored on the server and auto-archived in chronological order

Applications

Applications used to implement actions:

• .NET web form management

• Form data export to SQL database

• Retrieve users from a directory to perform an action or for email notification

• XML transformation (for EAI features)

Basic configuration (Development/QA environment)

Web server and database installed on 1 server

• Quad-core processor

• 8 GB RAM

• SATA hard disk with 40 GB free

  Note: The amount of hard disk space required depends on the level of usage, especially if process file data (such as attachments) are stored in the database.

• Windows Server 2012 or later (all versions)

• SQL Server 2014 or later (all versions)

Example of usage

• 500 potential users

• 50 requests/actions per day

Recommended configuration

Web server

• Quad-core processor

• 8 GB RAM

• High-speed hard drive array

  Note: The amount of hard disk space required depends on the level of usage, especially if process file data (such as attachments) are stored in the database. A minimum of 10 GB is recommended for WorkflowGen data.

Example of usage

• 5000 potential end-users

• 500 requests/actions per day

High availability configuration (web farm)

2 web servers in a web farm architecture

• Quad-core processor

• 8 GB RAM

• High-speed hard drive array or SAN

  Note: The amount of hard disk space required depends on the level of usage, especially if process file data (such as attachments) are stored in the database. A minimum of 10 GB is recommended for WorkflowGen data.

2 database servers: 1 primary and 1 read-only replica

• Quad-core or more processor

• 8 GB RAM

• High-speed hard drive array (NAS/SAN or SSD)

  Note: The amount of hard disk space required depends on the level of usage, especially if process file data (such as attachments) are stored in the database. A minimum of 10 GB is recommended for WorkflowGen data.

Example of usage

• 10,000 potential end-users

• 1000 requests/actions per day