What is a workflow engine?

Workflows are the mechanism by which personnel and enterprises complete their work, making them integral to sustainable business practices and continuous growth. Workflows provide systems for managing and routing repetitive processes and tasks, pushing them from one step to the next. And workflow engines provide a framework for defining, executing and monitoring workflows, which include the sequences of tasks that must be completed to achieve a specific business goal.

Workflow engines help business process managers and team members more easily manage the litany of tasks attached to simultaneous business workflows. With workflow engines, tasks and processes are typically initiated and resolved according to preset times and deadlines. For human-led tasks, when one task is completed, another is initiated. And for software-led tasks, such as network server maintenance, workflow engines can automate task management on set deadlines or with timed responses.

Beyond task automation, workflow engines also automatically guide business processes to the most efficient next step, helping companies minimize human involvement in tedious decision-making processes.

Today’s workflow engines enable businesses to dynamically allocate resources—including human, logistical and technological resources—to work tasks, based on skill sets, availability and existing workloads. They are often built with a microservices architecture to create a more flexible, scalable solution that can adjust to complex business processes.

Using a graphical interface or a process definition language, such as business process modeling notation (BPMN), workflow engine software applies a diagram structure to each workflow. It then specifies the sequence of tasks, decision points, timelines and data flows based on the assigned structure.

If the engine needs to integrate with other systems, it can use application programming interfaces (APIs) to facilitate data exchange, trigger external workflow tasks and maintain message queues for cross-system communication. When a user checks out on an e-commerce site by using a “buy now, pay later” service, for instance, a workflow API will direct them to the payment service to arrange payment, and then route them back to the retailer’s website for order confirmation.

While the workflow is in progress, the engine responds to workflow events that trigger transitions to other tasks. When a customer service representative finishes a service call, an automation engine sends out a customer satisfaction survey and escalate the issue to management, when appropriate.

Workflow engines also include monitoring, logging and visualization features. These features provide process managers real-time visibility into the current state of each workflow (including pending and complete tasks) and detailed records of every system event and action.

Workflow engines store business logic and executable business rules for orchestrating workflows, and automate the triggers, actions and events that comprise a particular workflow. Let’s say a writer submits an article to their company’s review platform.

The workflow engine views the submission as a completed task and, using predefined scripts and integrations, directs the submission to the appropriate editor for review. Simultaneously, the software sends email or platform-based notifications to all interested parties—including project managers, editorial teams and business process managers—alerting them to the submission.

When the editor finishes reviewing the article, they submit the edited document to the review platform. The workflow engine then sends it back to the writer and sends out the necessary notifications. These processes continue for every round of edits until the article is ready for publication.

The editor publishes the final draft by using the company’s content management system (CMS), making it publicly available to readers. The workflow engine once again sends out notifications to the appropriate parties, notifying them that the process is complete.

The engine will also trigger the CMS to send notifications to any readers subscribed to publication alerts. With all tasks complete and each condition met, the workflow engine software records the editorial and publication workflow results and archives the workflow.

Advanced workflow engine software offers a range of features that help businesses streamline workflow management and automation, including:

Workflow engine software includes process automation functions for both hybrid and fully automated workflows. It can complete tasks automatically or send notifications to process managers and team members for task completion and other interventions.

APIs facilitate communication between services and across workflows. Workflow engines often use REST APIs, which are flexible and lightweight and can streamline component integration in microservices architectures. Using APIs, workflow engines can seamlessly integrate with existing cloud services and platforms, simplifying engine adoption and helping developers deploy new workflows faster.

Low-code and no-code approaches enable developers to build workflows by using predefined blocks and templates. These templates help reduce the need for extensive coding and help nontechnical team members more easily manage workflows. Workflow engines also provide visual user interfaces to help teams more easily iterate and debug business workflows.

Many workflow engines can work with any cloud infrastructure, preventing vendor lock-in and enabling seamless integration with hybrid and multicloud environments.  

Workflows require frequent modifications and improvements. With several workflows running simultaneously, it can be challenging for teams and process managers to keep up with the changes. Workflow engines provide version control features that track each workflow iteration and enable users to run different versions of a workflow as needed.

Some workflows—such as employee onboarding and customer relationship management (CRM) workflows—need to run continuously or periodically over long periods of time. Leading workflow engines include scheduling tools and “start workflow” functions that enable developers to automate and repeatedly run workflows while they’re needed.

Modern, developer-friendly workflow engines can help teams construct both simple and complex workflows with open source software development kits (SDKs) that support JavaScript Object Notation (JSON). SDKs also support various runtimes and programming languages (such as Java, JavaScript and Python). Workflows as code help ensure that business workflows are executed consistently and that teams can easily test, reuse and track them.

Workflow engine software provides native error handling tools, which improve workflow and app resilience. Software typically includes built-in retry support so that tasks and workflows can handle timeouts, rate limits and failures without disrupting network operations.

Building workflows that can maintain their state across microservices, Docker containers, Kubernetes clusters and serverless functions is a complex undertaking. Workflow engines simplify the process with sequencing features that dictate how tasks and workflows traverse the network, enabling seamless workflow execution and service interaction.

Advancements in workflow engine software have significantly expanded its applications. 

With Internet of Things (IoT) devices, workflow engines can connect with device sensors to collect, aggregate and preprocess raw data in real time and then trigger workflows based on the processed data. IoT devices tend to generate events based on specific conditions (temperature thresholds and motion detection, for example). When a device reaches its threshold, the workflow engine can initiate responsive workflows to address the threshold event (by lowering the temperature or sounding an alarm).

Workflow engines can also employ complex event processing (CEP) to detect patterns and correlations across multiple event streams, enabling more sophisticated automation and targeted decision-making.

As businesses continue to adopt cloud-native technologies and digital transformation initiatives, cloud-based workflow engines become increasingly vital to workflow automation and management. Cloud-based workflow engines enable businesses to dynamically adjust, allocate and scale resources based on their computing needs, without significant infrastructure investment.

Cloud-based solutions also ensure that workflows are accessible from anywhere—important for remote and hybrid work models—and that team members can continue to collaborate, regardless of their geographical location. 

Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) technologies have also had a significant impact on workflow engine software. AI-driven engines can predict outcomes, adapt to changing business conditions and implement intelligent automation.

For example, a workflow engine can use AI tools to extract contextual information from a document and route it to the right recipient for approval or for implementation of the next step. Intelligent workflow engines can also use data from previous process instances to optimize future workflow instances. ML algorithms can analyze vast amounts of historical workflow data to identify trends and performance bottlenecks and suggest workflow process improvements.

Furthermore, cutting-edge workflow engine software can facilitate hyperautomation, which automate entire processes and integrates workflow engines with other automation tools (such as rules engines, robotic process automation (RPA) and intelligent document processing). With end-to-end automation, businesses can create cohesive workflow ecosystems that streamline business operations and minimize human intervention throughout the workflow lifecycle.

• Increased operational efficiency. Workflow engines streamline business processes by automating repetitive tasks, minimizing human error and accelerating task completion and workflow processes.

• Proactive issue management. Workflow engines provide real-time analytics that help organizations monitor workflows as they progress, enabling quick issue detection and resolution.

• Improved user experience. Modern workflow engines prioritize the user experience, providing clean, intuitive interfaces that simplify workflow management and reduce the learning curve for new business users.

• Streamlined scalability. With workflow engines, organizations can scale their workflows to accommodate increases in complexity and task volume without a proportional increase in resource requirements.

• Enhanced security. Today’s workflows often handle sensitive data, so robust security measures are paramount. Leading workflow engines incorporate advanced encryption, authentication and access control mechanisms to maintain data integrity and privacy.

• Support for higher-value work. Workflow systems, which run on workflow engines, are integral to effective business process management (BPM). Across software, hardware and human workflow orchestration tasks, workflow engines use automation to handle lower-value work and tasks, enabling employees to focus on higher-value innovation.

Both proprietary and open source workflow engine software can help businesses automate and manage business processes across various industries and departments. Examples include:

• Human resources: One way that HR departments can use workflow engines is to manage employee leave requests. Instead of manually processing submissions, a workflow can route leave requests to managers for approval, track vacation and sick leave balances, and notify employees of the status of their requests.

• IT and operations: IT departments can use workflow engines to manage incident response and change management. For instance, when a system outage occurs, a workflow can automatically send a notification to the IT support team, escalate the issue based on severity and track resolution efforts. Developers can also use workflow engines to automate data processing and change management so that all changes to the architecture are documented, reviewed and approved.

• Supply chain management: Workflow engines can help businesses manage complex supply chain processes. They can streamline order fulfillment by automating order processing, inventory checks and shipping notifications. If stock levels fall below established thresholds, workflows can automatically reorder supplies, ensuring that inventory doesn’t run too low.

• Healthcare: In healthcare facilities, workflow engines can optimize patient management processes. Organizations can automate appointment scheduling to reduce administrative burdens, send reminders to patients, manage cancellations and rescheduling, and ensure that patient records are updated accordingly. Workflow engines can also streamline insurance claim processing by using automated workflows that validate claims and check for required documentation.