David Chappell

Chappell & Associates

www.davidchappell.com

Workflow in Windows SharePoint:

Technology for Web 2.0?

Copyright © 2007 David Chappell

What is a Workflow?An Abstract View

1) Execute first action

2) Execute second action

3) Execute next action . . .

Runtime Engine

Defining Windows Workflow Foundation

Windows Workflow Foundation (WF) is a framework for building workflow-based Windows applications– It’s targeted at developers, not information

workers or business analysts

WF is now a standard part of Windows– The goal is to provide a common workflow

framework for Windows applications– Including both system and human workflow

WFWhat’s a Workflow?

A WF workflow is a set of activities

Each activity is actually a class– It can be reused in multiple workflows

Activities can be provided by:– Microsoft– Anybody else

Activities

Workflow

Other Activities

BPEL Library

Host Process

WFIllustrating Its Components

Base Activity Library (BAL)

Workflow

Runtime Engine

Runtime Services

Visual Studio 2005

WF Workflow Designer

Creating WF WorkflowsThe WF Workflow Designer

Workflow in Windows SharePoint

Windows SharePoint Services (WSS) is a standard part of Windows Server 2003– WSS version 3 hosts the WF runtime

engine

Office SharePoint Server, part of the 2007 Microsoft Office system, adds more workflow capabilities– All of which are built on WF and WSS

version 3

Windows Server 2003

Windows SharePoint Services

Site 1 Site 2 …

Web Browser

Internet Information Services

Site N

Microsoft Office

Document Library 1

List 1

Item A

Item B

Item C. . .

List N

Item A

Item B

Item C. . .

. . .

Document Library N

. . .

SQL Server

WSSIllustrating Its Components

List

Item A

Item B

Item C. . .

Document Library

Windows Server 2003

Windows SharePoint Services

Site 1 Site 2 … Site N

SQL Server

WF Runtime Engine

Internet Information Services

Workflow Instances

WSSIllustrating WF Workflows

Associations

Workflow Templates

WSSInteracting with Workflows

A WSS-hosted workflow places tasks on a user’s task list– A user can access this list via a web

browser or Outlook 2007

WSS defines several custom WF activities, including:– CreateTask: adds a task to a task list– OnTaskChanged: informs the workflow

that a task has been modified

Windows SharePoint Services

SiteWorkflow Templates

Document Library

Workflow Initiator

Workflow Participants

Task List

Approve

. . .

4) Add task to task list

1) Select document and association

Workflow Instance

2) Create workflow instance

3) Customize and start workflow instance

5) Check task list

6) Complete task

An Example WSS Workflow

WSSStarting a Workflow

WSSCompleting a Task

WSSCreating Workflows

Developers: WF Workflow Designer

Information workers: Office SharePoint Designer– Allows defining workflows by specifying

conditions and actions for each step

WSSIllustrating Office SharePoint Designer

What Office SharePoint Server 2007 Adds

A group of customizable pre-defined workflows– Approval, Collect Feedback, etc.

The ability to interact with workflows directly from Office applications using InfoPath workflow forms

A range of content-management capabilities– Such as document templates and broad

search capabilities

Office SharePoint Server Starting a Workflow in Word 2007

Office SharePoint ServerCompleting a Task in Outlook 2007

Summary

Windows Workflow Foundation (WF) provides a general framework for creating workflow-based applications

Windows SharePoint Services (WSS) 3.0 builds on WF to support human workflow

Office SharePoint Server 2007 builds on WSS 3.0, adding:– Broader workflow support– Enterprise content management

For Further Reading

White papers:– Introducing Windows Workflow Foundation– Understanding Workflow in Windows SharePoint

Services and the 2007 Microsoft Office System

Both available at: www.davidchappell.com/articles/white_papers.html

About the Speaker

David Chappell is Principal of Chappell & Associates in San Francisco, California. David Chappell is Principal of Chappell & Associates in San Francisco, California. Through his speaking, writing, and consulting, he helps IT professionals Through his speaking, writing, and consulting, he helps IT professionals understand, use, and make better decisions about enterprise software.understand, use, and make better decisions about enterprise software.David has been the keynote speaker for dozens of conferences and events in the David has been the keynote speaker for dozens of conferences and events in the U.S., Europe, Asia, Latin America, and Australia. His popular seminars have been U.S., Europe, Asia, Latin America, and Australia. His popular seminars have been attended by tens of thousands of developers, architects, and decision makers in attended by tens of thousands of developers, architects, and decision makers in forty countries. forty countries. David’s books have been published in ten languages and used in courses at MIT, David’s books have been published in ten languages and used in courses at MIT, ETH Zurich, and many other universities. He is Series Editor for Addison-Wesley’s ETH Zurich, and many other universities. He is Series Editor for Addison-Wesley’s award-winning award-winning Independent Technology GuidesIndependent Technology Guides, and he has been a regular , and he has been a regular columnist for several publications. In his consulting practice, David has helped columnist for several publications. In his consulting practice, David has helped clients such as Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Microsoft, Stanford University, and Target clients such as Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Microsoft, Stanford University, and Target Corporation adopt new technologies, market new products, train their sales staffs, Corporation adopt new technologies, market new products, train their sales staffs, and create business plans.and create business plans.David’s comments have appeared in The New York Times, CNN.com, and various David’s comments have appeared in The New York Times, CNN.com, and various other publications. Earlier in his career, he wrote software for supercomputers, other publications. Earlier in his career, he wrote software for supercomputers, chaired a U.S. national standardization working group, and played keyboards with chaired a U.S. national standardization working group, and played keyboards with the Peabody-award-winning Children’s Radio Theater. David holds a B.S. in the Peabody-award-winning Children’s Radio Theater. David holds a B.S. in Economics and an M.S. in Computer Science, both from the University of Economics and an M.S. in Computer Science, both from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.Wisconsin-Madison.