Workflow was initially closely associated with imaging, where workflow software helped to automate image routing. In a typical scenario, incoming mail (consisting of forms to be processed) is digitized and stored on optical discs. The workflow software manages queues of pending documents, automatically balancing the workloads of individual workers that are processing the incoming forms.
For a summary of some current imaging system venders, see Tom McCusker's "Software That Makes Your Work Flow" (1991).
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