Workflow as Strategy: Why the Best Laserfiche Apps Start with Big Picture Thinking

Strategy is everything when planning your workflows.

When most people think about workflows in Laserfiche, they picture automation: speeding up a review, routing a form, kicking off an approval. That’s all true—and valuable. However, at CPS, we’ve found that the organizations achieving the most significant return on their Laserfiche investment are those using workflow as a strategy, not just as a tool.

They’re not just automating individual tasks. They’re reimagining how work gets done.

Start With “Why,” Not “How”

They don’t start with “how do we automate this step?” They start with broader questions:

• What are we trying to achieve as an agency?

• Where are our current bottlenecks?

• What are the pain points for staff or the public?

• What would it look like if this process were working well?

By tying workflows to strategic goals—like transparency, service delivery, or internal accountability—you shift the conversation from “digitizing paper” to designing better services.

Cross-Departmental Thinking Pays Off

A classic pitfall in workflow design is thinking too narrowly, focusing on automating within a single department or function. But fundamental transformation happens when you map workflows across the organization:

• An employee onboarding workflow may involve multiple departments, including HR, IT, Payroll, and Facilities.

• A development permit application may involve multiple departments, including Planning, Building, Engineering, and Public Works.

Laserfiche excels at managing these kinds of cross-functional processes. And when departments collaborate on workflow design, they often uncover hidden redundancies, communication breakdowns, or conflicting requirements that can be fixed upstream.

Engage the People Who Do the Work

A strategic approach also means involving the right people, not just the project lead or IT team, but the staff who use the process every day. They know where the gaps are. They can often spot when something that looks good on paper won’t work in real life.

At CPS, we make it a point to coach clients on how to lead discovery sessions, gather user stories, and validate workflows before rollout. A killer app isn’t just elegant—it’s useful.

Think Platform, Not Project

A workflow isn’t a one-time project—it’s a living part of your business platform. With Laserfiche, each new process you automate builds on what came before. You reuse folders, templates, fields, and even conditional logic.

That’s why we advise clients to plan for the long term. Start with high-impact, high-visibility workflows. Establish a naming convention and folder structure that can scale effectively. Think about integrations that will matter six months or a year from now. Always be prepared to iterate as your agency’s needs evolve.

The Strategic Advantage

Using workflow as a strategy transforms Laserfiche from a tactical tool into a platform for innovation. You’re not just automating steps—you’re building capacity. You’re reducing friction. You’re creating systems that scale with your agency and make staff feel supported, not burdened.

And when that happens, the conversation shifts. People stop saying, “We need Laserfiche for this task,” and start saying, “How can we do this better with Laserfiche?”

That’s when you know you’ve built something truly impactful.