May 1, 2024
Updated May 11, 2025
23 minute read
At its core, workflow is the series of tasks or steps required to complete a specific business objective. Think of it as a roadmap that guides work from initiation to completion, outlining the sequence of actions, the people or resources involved, and the expected outcomes. Properly designed and managed workflows are crucial for businesses to operate transparently, effectively, and achieve a faster return on investment. The primary goal of implementing and optimizing workflows is to improve the speed, reliability, and standardization of complex business processes, ensuring that teams complete tasks efficiently and consistently. Understanding workflow allows individuals and organizations to streamline operations, enhance productivity, and ultimately achieve their goals with greater precision.
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Reading list
We've selected 30 books
that we think will supplement your
learning. Use these to
develop background knowledge, enrich your coursework, and gain a
deeper understanding of the topics covered in
Workflow.
Provides a comprehensive overview of Business Process Management (BPM), covering concepts, languages, and architectures. It is suitable for both beginners and advanced students, offering a strong foundation in the principles and practices of managing and improving business processes. It is often used as a textbook in academic settings and valuable reference for understanding the theoretical underpinnings of workflow in an organizational context.
A follow-up to The Phoenix Project, this handbook provides a more in-depth look at the principles and practices of DevOps. It offers actionable guidance for transforming IT workflows to achieve faster delivery, improved reliability, and enhanced security. It's a crucial read for anyone involved in building and operating modern software systems.
Written as a novel, this book introduces core concepts of DevOps and IT workflow through a compelling story. It highlights the importance of flow, feedback loops, and continuous experimentation in optimizing IT processes. It's an excellent entry point for understanding workflow challenges and solutions in a technology context and is highly recommended for IT professionals and those working closely with IT teams.
This is another foundational textbook on Business Process Management, offering a detailed exploration of concepts, modeling languages (including BPMN), and system architectures for executing business processes. It provides a rigorous academic perspective on workflow automation and management.
Provides a practical guide to implementing and managing workflows in a variety of business settings.
A seminal work in personal productivity, GTD provides a framework for capturing, clarifying, organizing, reflecting on, and engaging with tasks and commitments. While not strictly about organizational workflow, its principles are highly applicable to managing personal workflow and can significantly improve an individual's ability to contribute effectively to larger processes. It's a must-read for anyone looking to improve their personal efficiency and is considered a classic in the field of productivity.
Foundational text on the principles and practices of Continuous Delivery, a key aspect of modern software development workflows. It provides in-depth coverage of automating the software release process to achieve faster and more reliable deployments.
This guide provides a detailed look at business process change and BPM, offering frameworks and methodologies for analyzing, redesigning, and implementing business processes. It's a valuable resource for managers and professionals focused on improving organizational workflows and achieving business goals through process optimization.
A companion to The Phoenix Project, this novel focuses on the developer's perspective and the cultural changes needed to improve IT workflows and innovation. It introduces the Five Ideals and emphasizes the importance of technical practices in achieving better outcomes.
Makes a compelling case for the importance of focused, distraction-free work in an increasingly fragmented world. It offers practical strategies for cultivating a deep work habit, which is essential for mastering complex information and producing high-quality results. While focused on individual workflow and productivity, the principles are highly relevant for anyone seeking to optimize their cognitive output within any workflow.
Focused specifically on BPMN 2.0, the standard for business process modeling, this book provides a practical methodology for creating clear and effective process models. It's an essential reference for business analysts, process modelers, and anyone involved in documenting and communicating workflows using BPMN.
Focuses on how team structure influences the flow of work in technology organizations. It provides patterns for organizing teams to optimize communication and reduce dependencies, which is crucial for improving overall workflow efficiency in a modern software development environment.
Introduces the Kanban method as a way to manage and improve workflow in technology and service delivery businesses. It focuses on visualizing workflow, limiting work in progress, and continuous improvement. It's a practical guide for teams looking to optimize their flow and responsiveness.
Offers practical guidance for implementing BPM initiatives successfully. It covers various aspects of BPM adoption, including strategy, methodology, and change management. It's a valuable resource for practitioners looking to apply BPM concepts in real-world scenarios.
Comprehensive guide to Git, a widely used version control system. Understanding Git is crucial for anyone involved in software development workflows. The book covers everything from basic concepts to advanced distributed workflows, making it an essential reference for developers and teams managing code changes.
Another business novel, The Goal introduces the Theory of Constraints and its application to improving manufacturing workflows. The principles are highly transferable to other types of workflows, including IT and business processes. It's a classic in operations management and provides a foundational understanding of identifying and addressing bottlenecks.
This practical guide focuses on the essential skills of process mapping, analysis, and improvement. It provides step-by-step guidance and tools for understanding and optimizing existing workflows. It's a hands-on resource for anyone involved in process analysis and re-engineering.
Proposes a system-thinking approach to personal and business productivity. It encourages identifying and optimizing the systems (workflows) that make up your work and life to achieve better results with less effort. It offers a practical methodology for analyzing and improving workflows.
Provides an overview of workflow in healthcare, with a focus on how to improve patient care and reduce costs.
Provides a practical guide to using workflows to improve sales processes, such as lead qualification, opportunity management, and closing deals.
Provides a practical guide to using workflows to improve project management processes, such as project planning, execution, and control.
Provides a practical guide to using workflows to improve engineering processes, such as design, development, and testing.
Provides a practical guide to using workflows to improve healthcare processes, such as patient care, medical billing, and medication management.
This pocket reference provides a concise overview of data pipelines, a critical component of data-intensive workflows. It covers key concepts, considerations, and common tools used in building and managing data pipelines for analytics. It's a useful resource for anyone working with data and needing to understand the flow of data through different systems.
For more information about how these books relate to this course, visit:
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