This document discusses workflows in SharePoint 2013. It provides an example of a document approval workflow using messaging APIs. It also summarizes the new features of workflows in SharePoint 2013, including a declarative development environment in SharePoint Designer and Visual Studio, encapsulation of the workflow execution engine in the external Workflow Manager, and new native workflow activities and the Workflow Services API. Finally, it shows the 2013 workflow architecture with the Workflow Manager handling instances and the workflow service application proxy.

1. APPS FOR SHAREPOINT
SHAREPOINT 2013 WORKFLOWS
USE SHAREPOINT 2013 WORKFLOWS TO MODEL BUSINESS PROCESSES AND AUTOMATE THEIR
PROCESS STEPS
Event: Document
updated
Assign task:
Review doc
Status =
“Ready for Review”
Reviewer
Completes task
YES
Send email
notification
NO
Document
approved?
YES
Send copy of doc
to library
Set status of original=
“Published”
NO
Set status of original=
“Rejected”
END
This flowchart illustrates the progression of a document approval workflow, which is fully automated and which uses
messaging APIs to interact with workflow actors like reviewers and approvers
WHAT’S NEW IN SHAREPOINT 2013 WORKFLOWS
Workflow in SharePoint 2013 have been significantly re-architected to better leverage Azure services, the cloud
app model, and to fully optimize the new Windows Workflow Foundation, version 4. Following are some of the
highlights of the new design:
▪ A fully declarative, designer-based workflow development environment provided by both Visual Studio and SharePoint
Designer.
▪ The workflow execution engine and required services are encapsulated in the Workflow Manager, which is located outside of
SharePoint. SharePoint 2013 still contains the SharePoint 2010 workflow host so you can use Workflow Interop Service to invoke
2010 workflows from within 2013 workflows.
▪ SharePoint workflow project types in Visual Studio 2012 to simplify creating workflow-based apps for SharePoint.
▪ A custom action item type in Visual Studio 2012 to simplify creating custom actions.
▪ New native workflow activities, as well as a new Workflow Services API.
Take a look at What’s new in workflows for SharePoint 2013 (http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/office/jj163177.aspx) to learn
about even more enhancements to the SharePoint 2013 workflow architecture.
WORKFLOW 2013 ARCHITECTURE
Access Control
( OAuth )
SharePoint
Events
Content
Solutions
People
2010 WF Host
REST Calls
API / REST OM
Workflow Services Manager
Interop
Workflow
Manager
Messaging
Subscriptions
Deployment
Instances
Service
Bus
Workflow Service Application Proxy
Events
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