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SharePoint Workflows - SharePoint Saturday Twin Cities April 2012
This document discusses automating business processes using SharePoint workflows. It begins with an overview of business process management and surveys of SharePoint users. It then provides tips for automating processes and introduces the "crawl, walk, run" approach to SharePoint workflows - starting with out-of-the-box workflows, then SharePoint Designer workflows, and finally custom .NET workflows. The document outlines the capabilities and lifecycle of workflows and compares workflow tools in SharePoint 2007 and 2010.
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SharePoint Workflows - SharePoint Saturday Twin Cities April 2012
- 1. SharePoint Workflow: Taking theManual Out of Your Process Donald Donais
- 2. Donald Donais Avtex ITPro Consultant ddonais@avtex.com Blog – Tales from IT Side http://talesfromitside.wordpress.com Twitter @dondonais
- 3. Overview • Business ProcessManagement • Crawl, Walk, Run Approach • Crawl OOB SharePoint Workflows • Walk SharePoint Designer 2010 3rd Party Vendor Workflow Products
- 4. Business Process Management What is Business What is Process What is a Business Mgt? Process? Process? Systematic A series of Activities or set approach looking Actions, directed of Activities that at org workflow toward a specific accomplish more effectively, aim or goal Business Goals by reducing human error
- 5. BPM Survey • June20th, 2011 Assoc. for Information and Image Management (AIIM) • SharePoint Survey – Expectation for future users • #1 – “Lack of strategic plans on what to use it for” with to SharePoint ** https://www.nothingbutsharepoint.com/sites/eusp/Pages/SharePoint-and-BPM- Whats-your-Strategy.aspx
- 6. Survey Continued Which ofthe following types of add-on packages planning to use with SharePoint? Workflow /BPM #1 Search #2 /Analytics Secure #3 & Rights Mgt
- 7. Survey Continued Which ofthe following process have you automated with SharePoint Project Mgt #1 Internal #2 IT Other #3 Support LOB Processes
- 8. Tips when AutomatingBusiness Process • Make sure to define the process • Define reasons for automation • Necessary to define initial investment and maintenance costs • Do not automate every step in the process • Take the time to analyze potential ROI from process automation • Make sure to consider the human element within process
- 9. Approaching SharePoint Workflows Crawl,Walk, Run…
- 10. Crawl • Out ofthe Box Workflows
- 11. Walk • Introduce SharePointDesigner 2007/2010 Workflows CodePlex Actions • Introduce 3rd Party Workflow Tools 2007/2010 • Use Visio Services to Visualize Business Processes 2010
- 12. Run • Develop morerobust workflows • .NET workflows • Integrated systems • Custom .NET Actions and Conditions for SharePoint Designer • Advanced 3rd Party Workflow Tools
- 13. Why Workflow? • Oneversion of the truth • Flexibility • Auditability
- 14. Basic Workflow Capabilities •Start Workflow Manually or Automatically • Visibility into Running Workflows • Collection of Historical Workflow Data – Status of approval, errors,… • Stop (or Terminate) a Running Workflow • Tight Integration with Office
- 15. Understanding The WorkflowLifecycle Remove Association Initiation Running Termination Association • Association When a workflow is associated with a list Data can be associated with the workflow • Initiation When the workflow is first started on a list item Data can be associated with the instance of the workflow • Running Status page reflects state of the workflow User primarily interacts via Tasks • Termination End an instance of a workflow • Remove Association
- 16. Workflows 2007 Out of the Box SharePoint Designer 2007 Visual Studio 2005 & 2008
- 17. Workflows 2010 • Outof the Box New Site Level Workflows Customizable with SharePoint Designer Visualization with Visio 2010 • SharePoint Designer Parallel Execution Paths Reusable Workflow Visualization/Design with Visio Exportable to Visual Studio • Visual Studio Workflow Built-in Deployment/Debugging Tools Workflow Events Pluggable Workflow Services
- 18. Out Of theBox SharePoint 2007 •Approval Site Content Types •Collect Feedback •Collect Signatures •Disposition Approval •Approval Lists and Libraries •Collect Feedback •Collect Signatures •Disposition Approval Lists •Three State* •Translation Management Publishing •Publishing Approval *WSS 3.0
- 19. Out Of theBox SharePoint 2010 •Three State* •Approval – SharePoint 2010 Site Content Types •Collect Feedback – SharePoint 2010 •Collect Signatures – SharePoint 2010 •Disposition Approval •Three State* •Approval – SharePoint 2010 Lists and Libraries •Collect Feedback – SharePoint 2010 •Collect Signatures – SharePoint 2010 •Disposition Approval Lists •Three State •Translation Management Publishing •Publishing Approval * SharePoint Foundation
- 20. Out of theBox Workflows
- 21. SharePoint Designer 2007 • Next version of FrontPage! • UI comprised of multiple panels • Only Compatible with SharePoint 2007 (all versions) • Allow Users to Create Workflows • Associate Workflow to List or Library • Workflow Designer • Conditions & Actions – Augmented by CodePlex
- 22. SharePoint Designer 2010 •Redesigned for SharePoint 2010 • New UI • Only Compatible with SharePoint 2010 • Allow Users to Create New Workflows • Associate Workflow to List, Library or Reusable (Content Types) • Import/Export to Visio • New Workflow Designer Wizard
- 23. SharePoint Designer andVisio Workflows
- 24. Let’s set itup! • Sales Documents Process • If Estimate is >$100000 then . . . • Automatically approved if less • Manager Approved and email Sales and VP of Sales
- 25. Custom .NET Workflow •Bring in the Reinforcements! • You are here because: Missing Specific Feature SharePoint Designer Missing Action Custom Data or Actions Needed Existing Windows Workflow Investment State Machine Workflow Requirement Expose the Full Power of .NET • Word of Warning – There is a steep learning curve
- 26. Custom .NET Workflow– The Platform • Windows Workflow Foundation • Its not just a SharePoint Platform Built into .NET 3.0
- 27. Workflow – PlatformImplications • Workflow a Core .NET Feature Workflow can be ‘hosted’ anywhere SharePoint was Microsoft’s first host (CRM 4 uses it now too) • Custom applications can host it as well • Standardized Format XML based file format (XOML) • Widespread Availability
- 28. 3rd Party SharePointWorkflows • Nintex Workflow 2007 & 2010 Forms 2007 & 2010 • K2 Blackpearl Blackpoint K2 Forms
- 29. K2 • Visual Designer based in SharePoint • Implement workflow logic without code Also has Visual Studio integration • Rich visual designer from SharePoint • Connect to AD or LOB data sources
- 30. Nintex • Expand workflows beyond SharePoint Designer • Implement workflow logic without code • Rich visual designer from SharePoint • Connect to AD or LOB data sources
- 31. Nintex • Small Installation Footprint • Start in SharePoint, stay in SharePoint • Document Assembly and Conversion • User Defined Actions (UDA) • Lazy Approval • Workflow Change Approval
- 32.
- 33. Resources SharePoint Workflow: • WorkflowResource Center | SharePoint 2010 (Dev): http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint/hh295805 • Workflows in SharePoint Server 2010: http://technet.microsoft.com/en- us/sharepoint/ff819861 SharePoint 2010: • SharePoint 2010: http://sharepoint2010.microsoft.com • SharePoint MSDN: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en- us/sharepoint/default.aspx
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- 35. Donald Donais ddonais@avtex.com Blog – Tales from IT Side http://talesfromitside.wordpress.com Twitter @dondonais
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