We observe, today, an unprecedented development of information technologies in various
organizational, social and economic fields. The Web is the main driver of this evolution from a
simple display system of linked pages to a powerful platform for information and communication,
having the interaction, the dynamism and multimedia resources their main features.
At the organizational level, the Web has introduced several improvements, turning the business
processes more effective and centered on users. The deployment of portals to support management
and communication in organizations was the first step in the integration of information technologies
in several fields of organizations.
One of the most relevant technologies to support business process management is workflow,
representing the most significant solution for process automation and information management
inside an organization. According to Hales (1997) workflow is a proactive management system that
manages the workflow among the participants (users or other systems), according to predefined
procedures that define the tasks.
This article discusses the development of a platform for online laboratory management based on
workflow technologies, with the main goals to improve communication, cooperation and integrated
management of resources, promoting greater efficiency in laboratory management.
The eLabs platform is been used in Instituto Politécnico de Bragança for laboratory management,
integrating the management of internal and external services, equipment, resources and tasks. The
results obtained demonstrate an improvement in the efficiency of resources management and the
enhancement of quality of services realized inside the institution and to the community
