Seamless integration of order processing in MS outlook using smartoffice

Abstract

MS Outlook is currently the most widespread e-mail client in corporate environments. However, e-mail management with MS Outlook is usually decoupled from enterprise processes, making it difficult to synchronize e-mails and attachments with currently running processes. In this paper, we introduce SmartOffice -an extension for MS Outlook allowing the seamless integration of email management with enterprise workflows, thus increasing the effectiveness of e-mail processing as well as coupling processrelevant e-mails and documents with the respective process instances. SmartOffice was integrated with a legacy system supporting the import management process of a large German retailer. We evaluated the SmartOffice integration in an empirical study in the context of the import process, using real data, and with the employees of the retailer's import office. We conducted a semi-structured interview, where one participant answered questions after solving three typical tasks and surveyed a group after a presentation and demonstration of SmartOffice's functionality. The results show that SmartOffice has high potential for being introduced in the process with high efficiency and high user acceptance. Although the number of participants was low, the results are considered very relevant from the perspective of the domain experts, since the study took place in an industrial setting.

Digital Twins of an Organization for Enterprise Modeling

“…This is realized by Adapters that semantify and represent resources to be machine understandable (e.g., [38]) and make them available to knowledge services in the Knowledge Services Layer. These services can be used in the User Interface Layer (e.g., to analyze an incoming e-mail) and derive entities from the knowledge graphs [22], proactively providing context information to users [2,25]. This approach is based on the corporate memory infrastructure CoMem 5 which started as a research prototype [29] but is now matured in several projects and used as a pilot at a German energy provider 6 Second, to be embedded in the user's working environment and daily work, we use a Semantic Desktop that provides a system of plug-ins extending office programs (such as e-mail and chat tools or web browsers) as well as the file system.…”

Managed Forgetting to Support Information Management and Knowledge Work

“…Therefore, from our experience in knowledge work support, it is important to embed the support into daily work of the users and trying to create a context in which information need can be derived and required information be provided. Hence, it is important to find scenarios and use cases where this support is beneficial for users such as process work embedded in the e-mail client [19] or a context space for solving tickets [16]. Here, each action in that environment immediately leads to benefits for the user.…”

Transference of PIM Research Prototype Concepts to the Mainstream: Successes or Failures

“…Another task based email prototype is SmartOffice (2012) which provides semi-automatic classification of email based on activities. It also displays files relevant to the email at hand (Lampasona et al, 2012).…”