Workflow Automation

Workflow automation builds the steps of a business process into software, so each item moves through the same sequence and leaves the same trail. The National Archives (NARA) examined it in its 2014 Automated Electronic Records Management Report under the heading "Business Process and Workflow Automation." NARA noted that many agency processes "have information systems or workflow systems designed specifically to support the flow of information through that process." The approach "relies on integrating workflow steps to capture necessary metadata, to associate resulting records with a retention schedule, and to destroy or transfer the records to the archives at the end of a retention period within that system."

NARA's example

"An online system supporting citizen applications for permits might route each application from initial request through final approval and notification." In the last step, "the system automatically saves a copy of the final approved record in a repository designed to retain this series of records for the mandated retention period."

Strengths and limits NARA identified

• It "can lead to consistent capture of major business process records with no additional effort from end users."
• "It is less likely to be an option for unstructured business processes without a defined workflow or IT infrastructure."
• "Modern workflow systems are configurable, so adding additional workflow steps to manage records do not always require redevelopment of the system."
• The risk: "existing systems not originally designed with records management in mind may not create adequate records or metadata for records management purposes."

Robotic process automation

A related federal tool is robotic process automation (RPA). Digital.gov, run by GSA, defines RPA as "a low- to no-code Commercial Off the Shelf (COTS) technology that can automate repetitive, rules-based tasks." It explains: "Like an Excel macro operating within a spreadsheet, RPA can record actions performed across a personal computer, access systems, and perform specific tasks for human users." Popular uses include "data entry, data reconciliation, spreadsheet manipulation, systems integration, automated data reporting, analytics, and customer outreach and communications." RPA follows rules; it does not learn them (compare Machine Learning).

The broader idea, and the other approaches NARA ranked, are covered under Automation. Moving and reshaping data between systems is covered under Data Pipeline and ETL.

Why it matters for land and mining claim records

NARA's central finding carries over to land and mining claim research: a workflow captures what it was designed to capture, and nothing else. When the steps are defined in advance (which records are pulled, which checks run, what is saved and when), the file can later show how a conclusion was reached. A step left out of the design leaves no trace.