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
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
WSSCreating Workflows
Developers: WF Workflow Designer
Information workers: Office SharePoint Designer– Allows defining workflows by specifying
conditions and actions for each step
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
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.