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In testing with the Jet database option, e-work published workflows to the system, updated tables and routed forms instantaneously. The prime benefit of the e-work database-oriented architecture is this real-time delivery of work. In tests, this approach proved to be more reliable than the underlying messaging system and provided a better audit trail. With workflow products that are messaging-oriented, such as Keyfile Corp.'s Keyflow or FileNet Corp.'s Ensemble, workflow may fall prey to the timing and delivery schedules of the underlying e-mail system.

e-work is a forms-driven workflow product that places electronic forms in folders within a user's inbox. Forms are generated using the Designer tool. At every step of the workflow process, you can see at a glance who has the form and what actions have been taken. You also see urgent items pop up on the main screen.

The elect ronic forms created in the Designer and routed using the workflow tool arrive in the e-work client's To Do or Watch area as f olders. The folders represent the workflow stages and contain the forms pertinent to that stage. The client also sports a Blank Forms area, so you can launch a workflow, and a Search area to check the status of folders. The Search area was not yet implemented in the beta version, but it will be in the shipping version.

Workflows by Design The e-work Designer presents a workflow map for each procedure you create. Procedures are composed of a workflow map and any associated electronic forms, as well as flags and roles. Flags are indicators triggered when a certain condition exists or by an external application, such as a credit check program.

Roles are created by the user or by the administrator, and they are easy to delete and modify. You can build the directory manually, from the NT directory or from a file. Users and their managers can be associated with roles for routing work folders through the company hierarchy. This flexibility is invaluable within highly mobile organizations.

The map area features a handy toolbar containing both stages and actions used to generate workflow. Each stage appears as a folder in the user's inbox, along with the action requested, such as "approve" or "deny." On the left side of the screen, you can click from the map to any of the forms associated with it, or to the roles and flags.

e-work offers four types of tasks: user (performed by individuals), group (performed by a member of a group), system (requiring no human intervention) and archive (performed at the end of a procedure). Types of actions include those initiated by a user, an action based on a certain time, an action triggered by an event or another application and a conditional action dependent on a selected response, such as "review" or "need more information."

Built-in autoprompt technology brings up user input screens at the proper time. The floating properties window as sociated with each particular stage or action let me input information and make changes quickly and consistently. Thi s capability saved me from having to repeatedly click from screen to screen to enter information.

The Designer tool also provides drag-and-drop creation of electronic forms, and you can place any number of fields, labels, grids, buttons, lines and boxes on a form. e-work lets you attach a file, a file link or a URL to a form, though I couldn't double-click on the attachment icon and access a file I had attached.

Routing work can take a variety of paths. Conditional routing lets you initiate a statement that will route work one way if true and along the other path when false. In our sample credit approval procedure, the credit manager routed the credit application to the finance officer when the loan amount requested was greater than $5,000. Loop-back routing occurs when the credit manager makes a decision on loans less than $5,000.

The product's Integration Wizard guides you through sending an e-mail, reading or writing from a database or text file, or printing. This feature lets you bridge the gap between e-mail users, so you can send notices to users when they need to take action.

After your workflow is designed, you publish it to the system. In the lab, e-work quickly published the entire workflow to the system. The workflow was readily available to users in the client's Blank Forms. It is disturbing that e-work offers no workflow advisor or other mechanism to verify that the procedure is designed properly and will work as intended.

A Well-Formed Client From within the client, you can see the status of any forms in the To Do list, and you can view, process and track folders. This list contains forms that are routed to you for processing, and the Watch list contains forms that you'll want to track but are not responsible for completing. The e-work engine updates the folders in the Watch area when any changes are made to them.

The disadvantage of the standalone e-work client is users do not receive workflows in their e-mail inboxes. Creating a module for the predominant messaging sy stems (Notes, Exchange and GroupWise) would extend e-work's usability.

Nancy Cox can be reached at ncox@nwc.com.