Table of Contents
Kuali Enterprise Workflow, or KEW, is a module of Kuali Rice. KEW provides useful features for automatically sending documents to people for approval or action using workflows, managing the documents you receive through these workflows, searching for documents, and checking information about documents that have been in a workflow. KEW is built by and for higher education institutions and is especially designed for automatically routing work across departmental boundaries.
Using KEW you can:
Automatically send (route) documents to individuals, groups, or roles (people who do a particular function) using workflows
Create rules to automatically route documents based on the content of the document
Change routing rules, and the documents affected by your changes are rerouted immediately
Attach notes and other files to documents in workflows
Build forms easily and use them in workflows
Search for documents based on workflow information and some content in the document
Check the history of documents and the people who took part in the workflow for each document
Delegate items in a workflow to another person • Create and update groups for workflows
Customize the email messages that are sent when someone needs to take an action for a workflow
Choose whether or not you receive an email message when you have a new action item from a workflow
Integrate KEW with the Kuali Service Bus (KSB) for routing documents
Your institution may use some or all of these KEW features. Your institution may also use some of these KEW features and combine them with other non-Kuali applications, such as an application that manages users and/or groups, or an application that manages notes or attachments.
Information Sources: http://kew.kuali.org/
Kuali Enterprise Workflow provides a common routing and approval engine that facilitates the automation of electronic processes across the enterprise. The workflow product was built by and for higher education, so it is particularly well suited to route mediated transactions across departmental boundaries. Workflow facilitates distribution of processes out into the organizations to eliminate paper processes and shadow feeder systems. In addition to facilitating routing and approval, workflow can also automate process to process related flows. Each process instance is assigned a unique identifier that is global across the organization. Workflow keeps a permanent record of all processes and their participants.
Flexible Workflow Engine - Support for sequential, parallel and dynamic routing paths. Extensible architecture allows for easy customization.
Content-Based Routing - Routing decisions can be made based on XML document content. XPath and other XML tools can be used to determine routing without writing code.
Pluggable Components - Components can be deployed to the system at runtime using Plugins. Hot deployable class loading space provides a robust enterprise ready deployment environment for workflow code.
People in the Routing Process - Documents can be routed to individuals, groups or roles.
Action List - Displays a list of each user's pending items which require his/her attention, such as documents which are awaiting approval. Users can configure whether they receive emails when the document enters their Action List.
Document Search and Route Log - Allows users to search for documents and see an audit trail of what has happened to the document during its life cycle.
Document Search Customization - Document based content can be associated with workflow data and searched on using our Document Search screens. Have a single place for all of your workflow document searches.
EDocLite - EDocLite allows quick document building and integration with workflow using only XML.
Rules System - Provides a mechanism for defining business rules which govern how a document routes. Rule screens give functional users ability to maintain the business rules for their applications. Documents affected by rule changes are re-routed real time.
Notes and Attachments - Notes and Attachments can be attached to documents using KEW's notes and attachments services out of the box. Institution based attachment and note services can be used by overriding our default services.
Person Services - Maintains users of the system. You can use the Out-of-the-Box service or override with your institution's user services.
Group Services - Maintains groups of users. You can use the Out-of-the-Box service or override with your institution's group services.
Transactions - All transactions and documents route in a JTA transaction.
Web Service API - All system functions are available through Web Service APIs.
Security - Web service calls can be authorized using digital signatures.
Scalability - Can be clustered and run on multiple machines to allow for horizontal scalability.
Embeddable Engine - Workflow engine can be embedded in an application as well as ran as a standalone service.
Embeddable Web Application - Web portion can be embedded in an application as a Struts module. Run the Action List, Document Search, Route Log, Rules System and more from within your application with minimal effort.
Service Bus Integration - Integration with the Kuali Service Bus (KSB). Override any service from within workflow by having workflow grab the service from the bus or use workflow's pluggable components to deploy bus enabled services.
JMX Support - A set of management functions are exposed through JMX.
Spring Based Integration - KEW is designed with Spring based integration in mind.
Provides a single action list for the constituents of the organization to see work that requires their attention
Establishes a configurable way for service providers to define their processes, allowing them to alter those processes over time to reflect organizational change
Promotes transparency of processes to the institution so that people can seamlessly see the status, actors, and the history of any institutional process which leverages KEW as its workflow engine