1) General
presentation
NORA is the latest version of
Siatel workflow software. Server and Intranet
parts are written in Java, client part is written
in the new programming language C#. It offers
both classic workflow features (i.e. process
rigidity) and soft workflow adaptability.
The adaptability soft workflow offers to authorized
users, is very similar to the one offered by
e-mail products. For example, you can exit a
designed process and create another one on the
fly. Or you can reroute folders towards current
processes.
NORA is also a production and
a collaboration workflow system. NORA was designed
to bring a solution to every difficulty that
users generally face when working with this type
of product. Its standard version offer :
- a process designer that enables the users
to define, create and parameterise any type
of new process
Example of a process created
with the process designer
- a smart form designer. A smart form is
a form that knows how to choose a process
path according to specific criteria. With
this type of forms, users only have to choose
the relevant form and fill it out. A form
created and processed with NORA is shown
on the following page:
Creation of a form with the designer
“Staffing form” displayed
in form view
NORA uses a relational database
engine (Access, SQL Server, Oracle 8 or 9i, PostgreSql…).
It comes in classic Windows client mode and Web
mode.
2) Information
flow diagram
With NORA ,
you can create documents routing paths. These
paths appear in a graphical shape. They can be
created manually or with the process designer
module. This totally graphical tool is very simple
to use. With the process designer module, which
is part and parcel of the software, you can create,
edit, simulate and print processes.
Example of a simple process
As soon as a process is defined,
it is compiled and tested via an internal simulator
that informs the person who is creating it of
possible errors regarding path definition or
constraints (e.g. deadlines). NORA displays a
summary allowing quick problem identification.
If the problem comes from a task, just double-click
on the problem report line to point out the task
with an arrow. As soon as the process has been
ratified, it is stored on the server and can
be started.
3) Objects,
folders and documents
NORA manages and processes different
types of objects such as documents alone, forms
alone, documents and forms grouped together into
folders or electronic pins.
NORA offers some features that
are quite uncommon. For example, you do not need
to have the native application on your workstation
in order to view a document within NORA . This
feature allows flexible and quick display. You
can also digitize documents directly within the
workflow system, from any client station .
Indeed, NORA includes scanner drivers. Thus,
when a script is started, the input station directly
scans the received documents and inserts them
into the relevant process.
Permissions and deadlines can
be assigned to each local task. If a deadline
is not met, the user in charge of the current
task is alerted as well as the process administrator
who can decide to modify the process, to reroute
it, to modify the deadlines, to reallocate the
task, etc.
4) Forms
Forms contain informations linked
to a task. The FORM CREATOR module which is integrated
into NORA allows the administrator or any other
authorised person to create electronic forms
closely similar to their paper copy. Forms are
important for NORA's form properties are linked
to Gargantua's indexes.
Within a process, forms also
automatically root tasks according to the value
of specific fields. For example, in the following
figure, the “Submit details” task
has two possible answers “OK” and “NOK” (NOT
OK).
The form which is associated
to the process contains a Status property.
This property is linked to a list of values: Accepted , Refused , Waiting
for further information . Rules
can be created in order to automatically root
the task towards one path of the process or the
other once the task is finished.
The following figure shows the
rules for automatic rooting of documents once “Submit
details” task is finished. Therefore, if
the Status property is equal
to Accepted the process
will be rooted through “OK” answer.
If the same property is equal to Refused or Waiting
for further information , the process
will be rooted through “NOK” answer.
If any of these values is assigned (no value
indicated), NORA sollicits the intervention of
the user who has to choose between the possible
answers so that the process can go on.
Example of conditions for automatic
process rooting
Some of the information contained
in this forms may become indexes in order to
find out a task within different running processes,
by making a search on those indexes.
Search result on form indexes
It is therefore possible to
view the form with the searched values or identify
the task related to the form by indicating the
following information: process name, task name,
executor name and ID.
Information about a form found thanks
to a search
5) Process
control
A "history" file is
generated every time a document is inserted in
a process. The administrator can consult this
file at all times. The file can contain:
- the exact position of the task within the
process
- the steps that have already been performed
- the alerts that were generated
- the error messages
Comments can be added to a process
by the process administrator or by authorised
users while the process is in their inbox. This
comments -or notes- associated to the process
bring precisions and extra information for more
clarity while executing a task.
6) Users'
permissions on processes, tasks and documents
User's permissions are defined
for process as a whole, but also for each task
of it. It is therefore possible to establish
whether or not a user can modify the paths of
a current process or only modify a standard process.
It is also possible to define
access rights for users or groups on documents
linked to a current process. This rights must
be defined while linking the documents to the
process. This allows determining who has the
right to view or modify a document linked to
a process.
7) Assigning
several users to the same task
It is possible to assign several
users to the same task. The task is therefore
validated by:
- One of the assigned users. The process
will then go on once one of the users has
finished the task which will disapear from
the other users' inbox.
- All the assigned users. In this case the
process will go on only once all the users
have finished the task
8) Automatic
actions on tasks or processes
At the end of a task you can
add automatic actions such as: send e-mail, print
documents or transfer documents to Gargantua
EDMS. It is possible to indicate which type of
document should be taken into account for an
automatic action. It is also possible to automatically
send an e-mail when a process is started in order
to inform a particular user the process is started.
9) Compulsory
actions on documents
For a task, actions on documents
can be defined as compulsory in order to make
sure the user has actually taken the documents
into account. For example, it is possible to
make a user validate a document before sending
it to next task. It is up to the user who adds
the documents into the process to define compulsory
actions on them.
10) Deadlines
For a process a global execution
deadline may be defined. In this case, when a
user receives it in its inbox, a message informs
him the job has to be made up in priority. It
is as well possible to define an execution deadline
for a task. In the inbox, a process or a task
with passed deadlines is highlighted in purple.
Furthermore, it is possible to display the list
of all tasks and processes which are currently
in the inbox with their deadline date and hour.
The administrator is able to know which processes
or tasks have passed deadlines, if there are.
List of
processes with remaining time to the task
execution deadline
Remaining time is calculated
according to work hours in your company. So if
a task must be finished within two hours and
arrives in the user's inbox at 5pm –considering
a workday from 9am to 6pm- its deadline hour
is not 7pm but 10am next day. Week-ends are also
considered non-worked days. It is of course possible
to define workday hours for earch process and
according to different departments of your organisation.
11) Messages
and notes
In order to bring further information
to a particular process or task, the administrator
of the system can link messages to the process
or to the task. When a user receives a task with
linked notes in its inbox, the notes open automatically,
if the “View notes” option has been
activated in NORA's parameters.
At each stage of a current process
users can add their own message to the task,
if they are authorized to do so. Each message
is saved with the name of the user who added
it. This provides a very precise follow-up of
the executed operations and the comments that
have been done.
Message linked to the process for
further information
12) Connection
with GARGANTUA
There is a bidirectional connection
between NORA and GARGANTUA . Thus, a user can
define in a process (at any step) the direct
inserting and filing of routed objects into GARGANTUA
.
Moreover, you can store in GARGANTUA
the forms generated with NORA . When you insert
these forms into the Electronic Document Management
System, some form fields become the index fields
of the documents and the information they hold
becomes a set of index field values. Consequently,
the forms can easily be retrieved and viewed.
Indeed, GARGANTUA offers a viewer for NORA forms.
Furthermore, any GARGANTUA object can be directly
inserted in a workflow process.
