Workflow automation

Business and information technology (IT) processes can often get very complicated. They involve multiple tasks in multiple stages, each task taking input from previous tasks and external systems and making decisions based on the output of various steps. These are boring, lengthy, and repetitive tasks that can and should be automated.

These multi-step processes—also called workflows—are a core part of any business. Consider a financial technology (FinTech) application approving a loan application. These are a bunch of processes the bank has to follow. Let's cherry-pick some of those processes to give an idea of how business workflows work. Have a look at the following diagram:

Figure 2.4 – Loan approval workflow

So, this becomes a business process with success or failure in each stage defining what to do next. As long as government ID databases and credit scores are available over an API, this process can...