1

Cal

l C

entr

e V

irtu

al e

mp

loye

e co

nce

pt.

| 9

/20

/1

20

08

A P X B U S I N E S S A N D M A N A G E M E N T C O N S U L T A N T S L T D

Call center Virtual Employee Concept using

Knowledge management, Workflow management

and Process reengineering

November 2008

Hector Chapa Sikazwe

Keywords

Workflow management, processes, reengineering, knowledge management, call centre,

customer satisfaction customer call flow

2

Cal

l C

entr

e V

irtu

al e

mp

loye

e co

nce

pt.

| 9

/20

/1

20

08

Table of Contents

Abstract................................................................................................................................................. 3

1.1 Introduction............................................................................................................................... 5

1.2 Customer headaches.................................................................................................................. 5

1.3 Employee headaches ................................................................................................................. 6

1.4 Proposed solutions .................................................................................................................... 7

1.4.1 Workflow management and Process reengineering .......................................................... 7

1.4.2 The use of Workflow management Systems ................................................................. 8

1.4.3 The use of Process reengineering ...................................................................................... 9

1.5 The Virtual Employee ............................................................................................................ 12

1.6 Training of Virtual Employees................................................................................................ 14

1.6.1 Composition of team and responsibilities....................................................................... 14

1.6.2 General support for the initiative..................................................................................... 15

1.7 The Call center processes.............................................................................................................. 16

1.8 Advantages to organizations ......................................................................................................... 17

1.9 Conclusion .............................................................................................................................. 18

1.1 References and Bibliography .................................................................................................. 20

3

Cal

l C

entr

e V

irtu

al e

mp

loye

e co

nce

pt.

| 9

/20

/1

20

08

Abstract

Most organizations have a fragmented approach to information management. A huge amount

of customer data is duplicated in many places and call centre users are expected to enter the

same information many times as part of their day to day activities. For purposes of this report,

a Call centre is a work environment where employees sit at computer terminals answering

telephone calls about their employers business. They can be small or massive in size. They

can be found in the public, private or government sector. Often tired and stressed Staff work

their way through computer programs to answer the callers questions, take orders, record

details etc besides answering these calls, employees are also required to “fish” for

information in the maze of the many departments available to deliver satisfaction to one

customer at a time. This can be frustrating for customers as they have to constantly be put “on

hold” whilst the call centre employee “figures out” which department would best suit the

enquiry or attempt to resolve the problem.

This does not indicate a good customer experience. Due to the nature of information, ie

customers having to repeat the required information, the information stored in different paces

will always have variations and with time, become invalid as updates are rarely done.

Developing lean management strategies with redesigned call centre processes using workflow

systems and information management strategies can be the foundation stone for gaining

competitive advantage in the market place before considering cost justifying or implementing

massive organization changes. This report suggests that a call centre employee having the

“right” information at the “right” time when it is required and having the “right” level of

authority is essential if any organisation is to carry out its objectives in an efficient and

effective manner. The introduction of a “Virtual call centre employee” would be a

4

Cal

l C

entr

e V

irtu

al e

mp

loye

e co

nce

pt.

| 9

/20

/1

20

08

fundamental new tool for any organisation that wants to introduce s new ways of doing

things. This paper is designed to introduce the concept of a “virtual employee” in the call

centre and the envisaged material gain in time, process redesign by removal of unproductive

processes. This can be achieved using lean management strategies, reduction in decision

making lead times and increase in customer acquisition through rapid process approval

completion time.

5

Cal

l C

entr

e V

irtu

al e

mp

loye

e co

nce

pt.

| 9

/20

/1

20

08

1.1 Introduction

Most call centres, face the same mediocre treatment of callers who are already customers or

prospective customers. Most orgabisations have established call centres as the primary touch

point between the organisation’s and their customers. For that reason alone, it would appear

to be the perfect venue for a host of opportunities, most importantly, up-and-cross selling and

customer loyalty, all too rewarding to pass up.

1.2 Customer headaches

There are ten issues that encompass most call centres that affect customer acquisition and

retention. Below are the ten problems, though non-exhaustive of the common problems that

consumers are subjected to:

(a) Computer generated call trees that are difficult to follow

(b) Customers are kept on long holds before speaking to an operative

(c) Eventual passing of customers from department to department

(d) Rude operatives (some even hang up on customers)

(e) Insufficiently trained operatives seek support from someone else

(f) Unsatisfactory response to issues raised by customers

(g) Prolonged or protracted resolving of problems

(h) Delayed decision making processes

(i) Lead times are long before receipt of requested actions regular breaking down of the

IT support systems in use

6

Cal

l C

entr

e V

irtu

al e

mp

loye

e co

nce

pt.

| 9

/20

/1

20

08

1.3 Employee headaches

The problems described in 1.2 above partially inscribe what customers face when they call

into call centres. The issues are compounded by the existing frustrations that call centre

employees face in the process of carrying out their work. The following few problems are not

unique to individual orgabisations but are faced by most call centre environments in the

United Kingdom:

(a) Pace of Work-One of the biggest problems reported by call centre workers is the

pace of work given out that does not reflect the natural ability and level of

problem-solving calls by individual employees. Many, if not most call centre

managers require workers to meet targeted numbers of calls, sometimes with

absolutely no space between each call resulting in many employees put under

undue stress. Most call centres have a visual screen showing the rate of calls being

processed. This system identifies slower workers and creates embarrassment and

sense of urgency in the way calls are handled. The customer in turn suffers the

consequences of a “target oriented” call centre employee who fails to deal with

the customer as a valued customer but as a statistic on the screen.

(b) Health issues-Computer operators have reported such symptoms as soreness or

dryness of the eyes, blurred vision, light sensitivity and headaches from working

long hours in front of a VDU screen. This is referred to as “computer vision

syndrome.” Members of staff are put under unusual pressures when seen through

the wider pressures of managers demanding rapid rummaging through customers

with statistics being observed on screens and manager’s computer screens

(c) Faulty Equipment-Some headsets may not have adjustable volume controls and

7

Cal

l C

entr

e V

irtu

al e

mp

loye

e co

nce

pt.

| 9

/20

/1

20

08

are set at high volume levels. In some workplaces the general office background

noise levels can be very high and the volume for the headsets will be adjusted

louder still. This is a problem as the levels of noise going into the ear from the

headsets can be higher than the first or second action level in the Control of Noise

at Work Regulations. Therefore their continued use is likely to damage hearing

over a period of time and is a breach of these regulations. It is known that industry

standard headphones can and do breach the regulations. Whatever choice of

headset is made they must be comfortable to wear over a working day, be light

weight, they must be adjustable to fit the different sized heads and ears of those at

work, must not restrain the movement of worker etc. Call centre staff are likely to

have to endure customer complaints about the failures of their employer's systems,

be it service delivery, poor quality goods, wrong goods etc. Customers can

become very agitated when things go wrong and dealing with this constantly can

be a stressor for the worker, who is after all not responsible.

1.4 Proposed solutions

The two listed problems in 1.2 and 1.3 can however be addressed in two well known

solutions:

1.4.1 Workflow management and Process reengineering

The problem that orgabisations have, in areas like customer services and sales process is that

huge numbers of tasks have to be performed efficiently and well by employees. Most of these

tasks are often complex tasks, requiring coordination, a smooth flow of information between

different departments, and good person-to-person communication with the customer held on

the phone. There are two parts to the solution:

8

Cal

l C

entr

e V

irtu

al e

mp

loye

e co

nce

pt.

| 9

/20

/1

20

08

1.4.2 The use of Workflow management Systems

Workflow-management is a system of IT for overseeing the process of passing information,

documents, and tasks from one employee or machine within a business to another. Through

proper workflow management, each of these employees or machines executes or passes the

work on according to a predetermined procedure. As technology has advanced, most

workflow management has become automated and takes advantage of special software to

make the process much smoother resulting in quicker and less repeats required. Through

research and development, workflow management has inevitably become or has imposed

itself as an important component of a business for a variety of reasons. The primary

advantages of workflow management systems:

(a) is improved efficiency within the business. By automating many of the processes

within a business and establishing a procedure that is consistently followed,

unnecessary steps are eliminated, and every member of the team is fully aware of his

or her responsibilities.

(b) Workflow management computerised visual systems makes it easier to track

employee and machine performance. When a link in the chain is broken, it is simple to

go back and determine where this occurred. In addition, Workflow management serves

to standardize working methods, ensuring that every employee working on the same

level is performing the same function. From research work done by Salimifard and

Wright (2001) and Hammer and Stanton (1999), orgabisations that have applied the

system, Workflow management also improves customer service. By providing a

consistent product or service that is predictable at every level, workflow management

allows the customer to feel completely involved in the entire process and capable of

9

Cal

l C

entr

e V

irtu

al e

mp

loye

e co

nce

pt.

| 9

/20

/1

20

08

getting answers to important questions in a timely fashion.

(c) Workflow management increase company profits, as happy customers come back for

repeat business.

Workflow management provides opportunities for businesses to find ways of improving their

production or service process. By streamlining the responsibilities of each employee and

clarifying the roles of every employee and machine within the process, the company can

more easily determine where improvements can be made to increase efficiency and to

improve the quality of the product or service.

Basu and Kumar (2002) observe that by using workflow management software, businesses

also enjoy increased flexibility in innovation initiatives.

(a) By tracking processes with workflow management software and inputting various

alternative scenarios, the company can more easily determine viable options for

improvement as reported by Kumar and Zhao 2002)

(b) In addition, Sheth et el (1999) surmise that the software can be used to examine one

small component of a workflow within the overall workflow of the whole

organisation at the company-wide level. This is particularly helpful to large

businesses that may have several plants or offices spread throughout the country or

the world.

1.4.3 The use of Process reengineering

Business Process Reengineering or BPR is the discipline of first analyzing and then

redesigning current business processes and their components in terms of their effectiveness,

efficiency and added value contribution to the objectives of the business. Business Process

10

Cal

l C

entr

e V

irtu

al e

mp

loye

e co

nce

pt.

| 9

/20

/1

20

08

Reengineering (BPR) concerns the fundamental rethinking and radical redesign of a business

process to obtain dramatic and sustained improvements in quality, cost, service, lead time,

flexibility and innovation. BPR focuses on the whole process starting from product

conceptual stage to final product design. It provides the opportunity to reengineer the process

or to reduce radically the number of activities it takes to carry out a process with the help of

advanced Information Technology (IT) according to Hammer (1990), Hammer and Champy

(1993) and Peppard and Rowland (1995). Most scholars have problems in defining what

“process” means. From proponents of BPR, they all agree that a group of related tasks that

together create value for a customer is in fact referred to as a business process. Common

corporate goals include:

(a) customer satisfaction,

(b) return on investment, and

(c) Market share (Hales and Savoie 1994, Hewitt 1995).

These goals require process inter-dependencies and system reliability and dependencies that

are established through the integration of various business processes. Another dentition of a

business process is the type of commodity that flows through the system. For example, a

product development and its transformation into a final product can be viewed as a process.

Davenport and Short (1990) define `process’ as a set of logically related tasks performed to

achieve a defined business outcome and suggest that processes can be divided into those that

are operationally oriented (those related to the product and customer) and management

oriented (those that deal with obtaining and coordinating resources). Love et al. (1998)

consider the technical and social dimension of a process and they identify four enablers:

quality management, technology, information and people. Combining these two technologies,

11

Cal

l C

entr

e V

irtu

al e

mp

loye

e co

nce

pt.

| 9

/20

/1

20

08

(workflow management and processes reengineering) managers in call centres are able to

facilitate information flow solutions. .There are specific steps that call centres need to

establish before implementation of the required solutions.

The first part is realising that many of these tasks in call centres are identical and can be

replicated seamlessly. This means that they can be broken down into a manageable number of

categories that have very similar tasks. Then standard procedures (workflows) can be

established for each category of task. These procedures are already well established in most

orgabisations though not standardised using in process floor chats. Lack of established

standard procedures can be a source of stress levels within the organisation.

According to Mentzas et al (2001), the second part of the solution is appreciating, accrediting

and promoting the use of computer systems that are generally good at dealing with large

numbers of similar repetitive processes. It is costly to program a computer, but once the

computer is programmed to do something, it is cheap and efficient for the computer to do it

over and over again. Invariably most orgabisations already have well established computer

systems already installed and the regular synchronising of data bases in the organisation play

a major enhancement and quality of the work environment for orgabisations. Hruby (1998)

suggest well designed Computer support systems where employees are performing repetitive

tasks involving information reduce stress levels in the organisation.

Kumar and Zhao (2002) concluded that with increased awareness of computer systems and

workflow management, orgabisations can manage huge numbers of similar tasks by

programming computers to implement standard procedures. These kinds of computer systems

are known as workflow systems, because they manage the flow of work. Workflow systems

take the pressure off employees by identifying what has to be done and by always providing

12

Cal

l C

entr

e V

irtu

al e

mp

loye

e co

nce

pt.

| 9

/20

/1

20

08

the right information at the right time to the right person. Computerised orgabisations already

have some form of workflow support systems in place but usually not the full blown

workflow system as envisaged to be the way forward for any organisation that desire to

remain a major player in the competitive business market.

Using the attributes of workflow management and the concepts of process reengineering

concepts, this paper proposes nothing entirely new but the same processes that are already in

use being redesigned through reorientation of the business workflow to produce maximum

returns from minimum input. Continuous improvement of the current processes with quality

checks in relation to feedback from the users of the system can play a big role in creating a

unique organization.

1.5 The Virtual Employee

For purposes of this report, a “virtual employee” is defined as a specially trained “super user”

employee with holistic skills in handling customer issues that arise in the “one call” that the

consumer might ever make to the organization.1

As an observation, due to the inability or

failure by organization’s to control the call tree system (that should be designed to direct

customers accurately to correct departments) call centres are inundated with repeat and

misrouted calls that affect the operations of most call centres. When statistics of calls are

analyzed from daily operations statistics, there are a high number of calls that could be dealt

with in one single call by a well trained, well informed and alert employee. This would curtail

or prevent the same caller calling back with the same problem unresolved.

In detail, a virtual employee is proposed to be a well trained employee who can play the four

main roles that relates to the type of calls that most call centres deal with for most part of the

day. When calls are analyzed, they fall into four main categories that have as a result been

13

Cal

l C

entr

e V

irtu

al e

mp

loye

e co

nce

pt.

| 9

/20

/1

20

08

designated into departments in most organizations.

The following types of calls are representative of the major description of calls that most call

centres received and deal with it

1 This definition is by the author and improved upon by diligent discussion with business proponents in Virginmedia

21

Cal

l Cen

tre

Vir

tual

em

plo

yee

con

cep

t. |

9/2

0/1

20

08

(a) New business speculative Calls from first-time-would-be-customers

(b) Customer care calls from existing customers, needing support or help with the service

(c) Customer relations calls from irate customers who have presumably been failed

(d) Moves and transfer calls by existing customers changing geographical location

The virtual employee is proposed in this paper to be an employee who is capable of dealing

with these calls in one single telephone sitting with a customer without seeking help from

another department. Most current call centre process have automated call trees that direct

customers to press numbers that represent specific departments resulting in customers

subjected to unpalatable misrouting and misdirected experiences. This frustrates and provides

bad experience for most customers, creating resentment, frustration and repulsion of potential

customers. A disappointed first-time caller represents an exponential loss of customers for

future operations of any organisation

.The Virtual employee proposal is based on the observation and assumption that most call

centre operatives are capable of handling calls that belong to another department, but due to

restrictions and processes in place, the customer is “forced” to be passed to another

department’s operative who might not necessarily take ownership of the call due to the fact

that the problem could have been caused by another department. The cardinal essence of the

proposal of the virtual employee concept is that operatives can be trained to

(a) relate accurately and effectively with speculative new customers by addressing

customer sales issues,

(b) provide customer relations duties and

(c) Able to resolve situations where a customer moving from one property to another,

22

Cal

l Cen

tre

Vir

tual

em

plo

yee

con

cep

t. |

9/2

0/1

20

08

there would be no need for customers to be transferred from one department to

another.

1.6 Training of Virtual Employees

The objective of training virtual employees would be to establish:

(a) Whether the current business processes with the organizational framework of

departmental divisions is relevant for the moment and is the best arrangement for

gaining competitive advantage in the market,

(b) Whether a virtual employee will improve and create customer satisfaction in the call

centres by reducing frustration created by multiplicity of departments,

(c) Ascertain whether the exercise would improve the management and type of calls into

the call centres,

(d) Reduce lead times for consumer experiences,

(e) Generate job satisfaction for employees,

(f) Improve organizational revenue generation levels through increased number of calls

handled in call centres per employee,

1.6.1 Composition of team and responsibilities

If an organisation desire to implement the concept of the virtual employee concept, hand-

picked teams would have to be selected and training given in areas that could be lacking. The

teams would consist of high performing operatives willing to undergo training. Information

flow and reorientation of the mindset of the trial members would be at the core of the

exercise and the physical process and operational change would be the heartbeat of the

improvement training programme. There are four areas that would be addressed by the trial

23

Cal

l Cen

tre

Vir

tual

em

plo

yee

con

cep

t. |

9/2

0/1

20

08

and training programme:

(a) Corporate Organisational goals so that the trainees understood the purpose of the

exercise and business objective

(b) Information management concepts and the importance of systemised knowledge and

information flow within the entire organisation

(c) The value of one customer to the organisation and the concept of “one bird in hand is

better than 100s on a wire” concept first implored on by Kramler and Retschitzegger

(2002)

(d) The one-stop-shop concept that restricts repeat calls to call centres as the one call ever

made answers it all

1.6.2 General support for the initiative

Senior management commitment to any improvement initiative is always a key element to

the implementation of any new strategy and business concepts. The commitment and

involvement of managerial support can be seen as the most important factor contributing to

the success of any organisation’s improvements as reflected in many studies done by the

workflow management team at WfMC (1996). The level and type of involvement by

management go a long way to make such initiatives to succeed. Too little involvement by

management creates the impression of lack of commitment to the proposed initiative and yet

too much involvement may equally stifle the virtual team’s ability to challenge existing

practices.

The style of involvement is also important. If managers are to be seen to act as “approvers”

for all decisions, however minor, this may convey that the existing top-down approach to

24

Cal

l Cen

tre

Vir

tual

em

plo

yee

con

cep

t. |

9/2

0/1

20

08

management has not really changed. In complex systems, such as call centres, there is a

notion that senior managers need to have a better knowledge of the daily workflow process

behaviour; otherwise they may incorrectly overrule valid suggestions that the virtual team

members may arrive at. Management commitment would be critical throughout all the stages.

Managers normally find the devolving of decision-making during the initiative

implementation as a personal challenge as the process inverts the conventional top-down

theory of management and conversely shift decision making to the operative to create quick

and on the spot decisions. The intensive nature of initiative implementation requires high

engagement of staff involved and can be used as a beacon for future organisational ways of

workflow process execution throughout the organisation.

The participants are expected to be posses’ deep conviction and involvement in the initiative

implementation and will demand that they develop a continuous improvement mindset.

Communication of the progress of the initiative improvement programme results should be

seen as being important to both the participants and the rest of the organisation to indicate

and recognise the level of improvement and the achievements of/ by the trial team.

1.7 The Current Call center processes

When calls are received in call centres, operatives immediately determine whether they can

deal with the call or not. The operatives immediately “lose” control of the customer and

customer expectations the moment they determine the caller needs to be passed to another

department. The customer is then subjected to frustrating long holds and possibly eventually

passed back into the call tree, thus generating repeat calls.

25

Cal

l Cen

tre

Vir

tual

em

plo

yee

con

cep

t. |

9/2

0/1

20

08

Unfortunately, customer’s opinion and attitude towards the organization is then formed and

created by this first time interaction with an operative and consequently determine whether

they want to enter into a business relationship or not. The ideology behind a virtual employee

is to provide for the customer an operative that can deal with a query relating to the four main

departments in one single call without being passed to another department. When customer

expectations are met in one single call, the results can be very exponentially productive.

1.8 Advantages to orgabisations

The business change methodology works around the principle that processes can best be

developed by designing the processes around the needs of customers. Customers take delight

in knowing they do not have to spend long times on the phone to attend to an issue. Quick

response to issues raised can generate customer satisfaction. The following are obvious

results:

(a) Fewer repeat calls (Improvement of customer flow

(b) Issues dealt with in one call (Improving customer waiting times

(c) Customer satisfaction (Improving service performance)

Lean teams (Reduction in staffing and other cost Easier management of customer data bases

(Knowledge management systems in one place) Improving processing times Achieving more

for less Bringing services up to a standard Achieving more for less Bringing services up to a

standard Whatever sector considered, many of the issues facing call centres remain the same

and ultimately consumers are much less likely to buy a company’s products if they have a

poor experience when calling that company’s call centre for help. The test and success for

any new management pilot concept is whether or not the outcomes of the approach are

26

Cal

l Cen

tre

Vir

tual

em

plo

yee

con

cep

t. |

9/2

0/1

20

08

sufficient to justify the cost and effort of implementation into the organisation. Any idea that

is proposed for improving the marketability of an organisation must not be dismissed lightly

as the same idea may be used by a competitor to create competitive advantage. This proposal

is based on the fact that the infrastructure in place within Virginmedia is ripe for exploiting

the virtual employee concept without upsetting the existing operations in a massive way. The

costs involved for the trial are minimal, tottering on the famous statement by the famous

Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, who is widely regarded as one of the pioneering masters of

modern architecture who said, “Less is more” when referring to the use of space in design.

Fewer people are capable of handling more calls efficiently when they are well equipped,

knowledgeable; possess sufficient permissions and authority to perform their duties. Such

“virtual employees” can become the super users of the vast Company Empire to produce

unmatched competitive advantage.

1.9 Conclusion

According to Gettys, R (2009), Call centres are not only ubiquitous, but also a hot bed for

customer dissatisfaction. The performance can make or break any service provider’s indexes

of customer loyalty. Only by honing in on what the client needs (or another department, if the

call center is internal), building a process around those needs and collecting measurement on

key factors can develop a call center to be an asset to the organization as a whole. The use of

novel operating strategies like lean management, workflow management, 6 sigma, process

reengineering and of course the concept of a virtual employee can significantly reduce

customer dissatisfaction and improve call center operations. It is imperative that Customer

service representatives need to be able to

27

Cal

l Cen

tre

Vir

tual

em

plo

yee

con

cep

t. |

9/2

0/1

20

08

(a) timely answer the phone,

(b) They need to resolve questions quickly,

(c) Hold time needs to be minimal and at or under the customer’s expectation.

Yet these important metrics, taken alone, with little or no regard to other client-affecting

service level indicators, can lead to a loss of business. There are ambiguous reasons behind

loss of customer confidence in issues like

(a) having to make more than one call and then talking to more than one customer

representative,

(b) having to stay on hold,

(c) deal with computer answer machines and a menu that is anything but easy to use,

(d) the absence of dedicated virtual employees, resulting in each call is a new beginning

where the problem has to be explained afresh,

(e) Poorly trained executives who more often than not escalate the issue to their seniors

while customers are put on hold,

This report has put forward the virtual employee as one solution that can be employed to

improve Call center performance. This report has also suggested that time and effort devoted

to offering customer service should not be viewed as an avoidable cost, and call centres

should not be viewed as “cost centres” but as “profit centres” when run properly. It is

incumbent on Call center managers to select call center employees and subject them to

specific training that does not restrict them to basic answering of telephone calls. Virtual

employees that are properly trained can deliver consistent positive results and a focus on

28

Cal

l Cen

tre

Vir

tual

em

plo

yee

con

cep

t. |

9/2

0/1

20

08

training virtual employees coupled with quality control and new ways of running call centres

can deliver clear and positive business advantage for any organisation with quantifiable

profits and reduction of costs.

1.1 References and Bibliography

Arkin, A. (2002) Business Process Modeling Language. San Mateo, CA: BPMI.org, 2.

Proposed Final Draft.

Barbará, D., Mehrotra, S., and Rusinkiewicz, M. (1996) "INCAs: Managing Dynamic

Workflows in Distributed Environments." Journal of Database Management, Volume 7,

Number 1

Basu, A., and Kumar, A. (2002) "Research Commentary: Workflow Management Issues in

e-Business." Information Systems Research, Volume 13, Number 1,

Basu, A., and Kumar, A. (2002) "Research Commentary: Workflow Management Issues in

e-Business." Information Systems Research, Volume 13, Number 1, pp. 1-14.

Bussler, C. (2002) "P2P in B2BI." A paper delivered at the Proceedings of the 35th Hawaii

International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS 2002), Waikoloa (HI),

Duftler, M. J., Mukhi, N. K., Slominski, A., and Weerawarana, S. (2001).Web Services

Invocation Framework (WSIF). Yorktown Heights, NY: IBM T.J. Watson Research Center,

Gettys, R (2009) Using Lean Six Sigma to Improve Call Center Operations, George

Group of Dallas, USA

29

Cal

l Cen

tre

Vir

tual

em

plo

yee

con

cep

t. |

9/2

0/1

20

08

Glance, N. S., Pagani, D. G., and Pareschi, R (1996). "Generalized Process Structure

Grammars (GPSG) for flexible representations of work." A paper delivered at the

Proceedings of the 1996 Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW '96),

Boston (MA),

Grefen, P., Aberer, K., Hoffner, Y., and Ludwig, H. (2000) "CrossFlow: Cross-

Organizational Workflow Management in Dynamic Virtual Enterprises." International

Journal of Computer Systems Science & Engineering, Volume 15, Number 5,

Hayami, H., Katsumata, M., and Okada, K.-(2000) "Interworkflow: A Challenge for

Business-to-Business Electronic Commerce." In Workflow Handbook 2001, ed. Layna

Fischer, 145-159. Lighthouse Point, FL: Future Strategies,

Hayes, J. G., Perovian, E., Sarin, S., Schmidt, M.-T., Swenson, K., and Weber, R. (2000)

"Workflow Interoperability Standards for the Internet." IEEE Internet Computing, Volume 4,

Number 3, pp. 37-45.

Hollingsworth, D. (1995) The Workflow Reference Model Version 1.1. Winchester, UK:

Workflow Management Coalition, WFMC-TC-1003.

Hollingsworth, D. (2002) "An XML based Architecture for Collaborative Process

Management." In Workflow Handbook, ed. Layna Fischer, 95-116. Lighthouse Point (FL):

Future Strategies,

Hruby, P. (1998) "Specification of Workflow Management Systems with UML." A paper

delivered at the Proceedings of the 1998 OOPSLA Workshop on the Implementation and

Application of Object-oriented Workflow Management Systems, Vancouver (BC),

30

Cal

l Cen

tre

Vir

tual

em

plo

yee

con

cep

t. |

9/2

0/1

20

08

Jablonski, S. (2000) "Workflow Management Between Formal Theory and Pragmatic

Approaches." In Business Process Management: Models, Techniques, and Empirical Studies,

ed. Wil van der Aalst, Jörg Desel, and Andreas Oberweis, 1806, 345-358. Berlin et al.:

Springer Verlag,

Jablonski, S., and Bussler, C. (1996) .Workflow Management. Modeling Concepts,

Architecture and Implementation. London et al.: International Thomson Computer Press,

Knutilla, A., Schlenoff, C., Ray, S., Ployak, S. T., Tate, A., Cheah, S. C., and Anderson,

R. C. (1998) Process Specification Language: An Analysis of Existing Representations.

Gaithersburg (MD): National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), NISTIT 6160.

Kumar, A., and Zhao, J. L (2002) "Workflow support for electronic commerce

applications." Decision Support Systems, Volume 32, Number 3, pp. 265-278.

Leymann, F. (2001). Web Services Flow Language (WSFL 1.0). Stuttgart: IBM

Corporation, Technical report.

Mentzas, G., Halaris, C., and Kavadias, S (2001) "Modelling business processes with

workflow systems: an evaluation of alternative approaches." International Journal of

Information Management, Volume 21, Number 2,

Ricker, J., Swenson, K. D., and Silverstein, M (2003) Asynchronous Service Access

Protocol Working Draft 01. Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information

Standards,. Standards Specification.

Salimifard, K., and Wright, M. (2001) "Petri net-based modelling of workflow systems: An

overview." European Journal of Operational Research, Volume 134,

31

Cal

l Cen

tre

Vir

tual

em

plo

yee

con

cep

t. |

9/2

0/1

20

08

Schulze, W., Böhm, M., and Meyer-Wegener, K. (1996) "Services of Workflow Objects

and Workflow Meta-Objects in OMG-compliant Environments." A paper delivered at the

Proceedings of the 1996 OOPSLA Workshop on Business Object Design and

Implementation, San Jose (CA),.

Sheth, A., van der Aalst, W., and Arpinar, I. B (1999) "Processes Driving the Networked

Economy." IEEE Concurrency, Volume 3, Number 7, , pp. 18-31.

Swenson, K. (1998) Simple Workflow Access Protocol (SWAP). Internet Engineering Task

Force,. IETF Internet-Draft.

Swenson, K. (2004) "Workflow and Web Services Standards." Business Process

Management Journal, Volume 10, Number 4

Swenson, K., and Ricker, J. (2002) Asynchronous Web Services Protocol. San Jose (CA),

USA, Draft Specification.

Thatte, S. XLANG (2001) Web Services for Business Process Design. Redmond (WA):

Microsoft Corporation,. Initial Public Draft.

Van der Aalst, W., and Kumar, A. (2003) "XML Based Schema Definition for Support of

Inter-organizational Workflow." Information Systems Research, Volume 14, Number 1

Weber, R. (2003) "Workflow-Interoperabilität über das Internet mit dem Standard Wf-

XML." Wirtschaftsinformatik, Volume 45, Number 3

WfMC. (1996) Workflow Client Application (Interface 2) Application Programming

Interface Version 1.1. Winchester, UK: Workflow Management Coalition, Document

32

Cal

l Cen

tre

Vir

tual

em

plo

yee

con

cep

t. |

9/2

0/1

20

08

Number WFMC-TC-1009.

WfMC. (1996) Workflow Standard - Interoperability Abstract Specification Version 1.0.

Winchester, UK: Workflow Management Coalition, Document Number WFMC-TC-1012.

WfMC. (1999) Interface 1: Process Definition Interchange Process Model. Winchester (ID):

Workflow Management Coalition,. Document Number WfMC-TC-1016-P Version 1.1 Final.

WfMC. (2001) Workflow Standard - Interoperability, Wf-XML Binding, Version 1.1.

Lighthouse Point, FL: Workflow Management Coalition,. Document Number WFMC-TC-

1023.

WfMC. (2002) Workflow Process Definition Interface - XML Process Definition Language.

Document Status - 1.0 Final Draft. Lighthouse Point (FL): Workflow Management

Coalition,. Document Number WFMC-TC-1025.

Zur Muehlen, M. (2000) ."A Framework for XML-based Workflow Interoperability - The

AFRICA Project." A paper delivered at the Sixth Americas Conference on Information

Systems.