Designed to simplify job processes, case management is the work process that deals with the execution of unstructured data and procedures in a given business setting.
A subset of Workflow Management, Case Management focuses on the coordination, action, and management of requests that follow an unstructured path to resolution. It helps to achieve a specific goal by processing data and redefining the path of each request based on new developments. Since a case has to do with information concerning a particular incident or problem, case management simply focuses on recording, examining, and tracking the data presented, and reactively defining the path to case resolution based on new information.
Unlike workflow management that places the focus on completing repetitive tasks, case management deals with the unpredictable tasks that need human intervention and knowledge-based decision making.
How Does Case Management Work?
Although initially a system privy to only select industries and companies that deal with numerous non-routine tasks, case management is recently becoming mainstream and has been adopted by even more companies today. What makes Case management an impressive system is its ability to gather and present data, assign and reassign tasks within the case, change direction when new information is presented, and drive resolution in a fast and efficient manner. Case management structure depends highly on human judgment and those processes can be altered to adapt to the situation at hand.
Case management has been especially useful in the healthcare and legal industries that require a dynamic approach to their services and cannot all go through a linear and defined process of execution. Case management has helped to structure these cases in a way to optimize company resources while reducing the effort needed to coordinate and resolve cases effectively. Some examples in which this perfect blend of structure and human knowledge can be used include:
Quickly assigning customer service tickets to collaborators and keeping track of each assigned ticket
- Catering to internal service requests
- Logging and investigating items
- Incident reporting
- Bug tracking and software deployment
Components Of Case Management
Case management typically handles a wide range of incidents depending on complexity and predictability of the cases. Broadly, case management is broken down into four key components:
Process-to-decision:
This component of case management deals with cases that follow a structured approach for the most part. There are specific rules that govern each case and the flow of the case is mostly reliable and predictable. These rules are often dictated and amended by the industry or governing body. While the overall form may be structured, the triggers that govern the system may still change and require a fair bit of context-driven action. Some examples include compliance, tax filing, routine patient care, etc.
Service Request
Service requests, much like process-to-decision cases, follow a somewhat structured approach. But in the case of service requests, the context or the need for action is not known at the time of initiation. In this component of case management, the actions taken, sequence of events, and fulfillment of the service request largely depend on the context of the case. It is extensively workflow heavy and cases are often complicated in nature. The outcomes of such cases entirely depend on the actions of the knowledge worker. Some examples of service requests are insurance claims, telecommunication service requests, etc.
Incident Management
Incident management takes the volatility of cases up a notch. Cases are a high-level process that require a great deal of flexibility of operation and collaboration between case managers, contributors, and decision makers. These incidents may not adhere to a fixed schedule and may require a great deal of urgency and intent. Such cases generate a large volume of data and actions are largely ad-hoc in nature. Outcomes of such cases are extremely unpredictable and are solely dependent on the efficiency of the knowledge worker and their ability to think on their feet. Some examples of incident management include disaster management, workplace incident management, grievance management, etc.
Investigations
Investigations are at the unstructured extreme of case management. Investigations have very little structure in terms of workflow but have a very well-defined end goal, i.e., resolution. No two cases within this component are the same. These cases can take multiple paths to completion and actions are solely taken at the recommendation of the case manager. Tasks within the case are largely ad-hoc in nature and milestone driven. In general, investigations are extremely data heavy and the introduction of new data can require a dramatic change in direction. Some examples of investigations include tax assessment, background checks, insurance fraud, and legal investigations.
