Workflow

What is a Workflow?

A workflow is a repeatable sequence of tasks, activities, and decision points arranged in a specific order to achieve a defined objective. Put simply, workflows are how people and organizations actually get things done. Whether you're manufacturing a product, delivering a service, or processing information, there's probably a workflow behind it.

What sets workflows apart from broader business processes? Scope, mainly. Business processes often span multiple departments and tie into strategic goals. Workflows, on the other hand, stay focused on executing specific tasks. They map out how work moves between people, systems, and touchpoints to get things done consistently. The best workflows blend human judgment with automation, turning inputs into outputs while following clear rules and decision logic.

Why bother formalizing your workflows? The numbers tell an interesting story. Industry research suggests workflow automation could save businesses over one trillion dollars annually by 2025, and roughly 80 percent of organizations are now adopting some form of intelligent automation. When you establish clear workflows, you cut down on errors, remove bottlenecks, and free your team to focus on work that actually requires their expertise.

Key Characteristics of Workflow

• Repeatable and Predictable: Workflows follow the same sequence every time, producing consistent outcomes regardless of who executes them or when.
• Sequential or Conditional: Tasks move in a defined order. Sometimes that order is fixed; other times it adapts based on triggers, conditions, or decisions made along the way.
• Role-Defined: Each step assigns clear responsibility to someone or something, whether that's an individual, a team, or an automated system. No ambiguity about who owns what.
• Measurable and Optimizable: Good workflows include milestones and metrics you can track. This lets you spot inefficiencies and make improvements over time.
• Purpose-Driven: Every workflow exists to accomplish something specific, be it approving a purchase, fulfilling an order, or resolving a support ticket.

Workflow Examples

Example 1: Invoice Approval Workflow

Consider how a company handles invoice approvals. It starts when a vendor submits an invoice and ends when payment gets authorized. Along the way, someone enters the data into the accounting system, a manager reviews it, the budget gets verified, and then it's either approved or rejected. If approved, payment processing kicks off, followed by final documentation. Each step triggers the next, creating a consistent, auditable process that keeps unauthorized payments from slipping through.

Example 2: Content Publishing Workflow

A marketing team's content workflow typically begins with a writer drafting an article and concludes when that article goes live. In between, the draft goes through peer review, editorial feedback, revisions, SEO adjustments, and design work. The content manager gives final approval, it gets scheduled in the CMS, and then it publishes. This structure helps ensure nothing goes out the door that doesn't meet quality standards or brand guidelines.

Workflow vs Business Process vs Procedure

Workflows, business processes, and procedures all organize work, but they operate at different levels.

Think of it this way: a business process gives you the strategic overview and defines business logic. A workflow executes that logic by managing specific tasks at the operational level. Standard operating procedures then spell out exactly how to perform individual activities within those workflows, while process documentation ensures knowledge is captured and shared.

How Glitter AI Helps with Workflow

Documenting workflows used to mean spending hours creating diagrams and writing instructions. Glitter AI changes that. Instead of manually documenting everything, you just do your work while Glitter records it. The tool captures every action and generates visual documentation automatically, complete with screenshots, annotations, and clear step-by-step guidance.

The time savings are substantial, and you get better accuracy too. When a workflow changes, you don't have to rewrite everything from scratch. Just re-record the process and share the updated documentation with your team. The visual format makes even complicated workflows easy to follow, which means less training time and more consistent execution across your organization.