Workflow Best Practices (and Mistakes to Avoid) Mike Fitzmaurice VP – Workflow Technology

Who am I? Original SharePoint evangelist 11 years at Microsoft 8 years at Nintex Working with workflow solutions for over 25 years Past lives in development, IT, R&D, power usage

Focus on Everyday Processes

Handle returns from our Retail Stores. I need to simplify Internal Procurement. Streamline cross-product Sales and Marketing lead processing. Automate Loan Approvals.

What is my Job Task? Can you approve this Equipment Purchase? I need this Expense Report approved. Can you approve my Vacation Request? I need to Onboard a New Employee. Please Review this Document ASAP. Route tasks to Launch the New Product 3 rd party vendor needs a New Account to collaborate. Submit that Service Request Form remotely. Who is on point to finish the Campaign Materials? How is that Sales Proposal coming together? Route tasks to Launch the New Product Here’s some Social Content to publish.

What is my Job Task? Can you approve this Equipment Purchase? I need this Expense Report approved. Can you approve my Vacation Request? I need to Onboard a New Employee. Please Review this Document ASAP. Route tasks to Launch the New Product 3 rd party vendor needs a New Account to collaborate. Submit that Service Request Form remotely. Who is on point to finish the Campaign Materials? How is that Sales Proposal coming together? Route tasks to Launch the New Product Here’s some Social Content to publish.

Everyday Processes Steal time Get in the way Annoy users Attract mistakes

What is my Job Task? Can you approve this Equipment Purchase? I need this Expense Report approved. Can you approve my Vacation Request? I need to Onboard a New Employee. Please Review this Document ASAP. Route tasks to Launch the New Product 3 rd party vendor needs a New Account to collaborate. Submit that Service Request Form remotely. Who is on point to finish the Campaign Materials? How is that Sales Proposal coming together? Route tasks to Launch the New Product Here’s some Social Content to publish.

What is my Job Task? Can you approve this Equipment Purchase? I need this Expense Report approved. Can you approve my Vacation Request? I need to Onboard a New Employee. Please Review this Document ASAP. Route tasks to Launch the New Product 3 rd party vendor needs a New Account to collaborate. Submit that Service Request Form remotely. Who is on point to finish the Campaign Materials? How is that Sales Proposal coming together? Route tasks to Launch the New Product Here’s some Social Content to publish.

Everyday Processes Have few stakeholders (even if many participants) Are easier to automate Free up time to focus Teach users how to think

Failure

Consensus Probably Doesn’t Exist

The Process Will Change

Exceptions Will Be Ignored

Initial Failure as a Winning Strategy Create an initial workflow just to show how awful (or incomplete) a process is. Only then can you change it.

Process Step Start Simple Automate this first Automate these later

Review. Revise. Repeat.

Stages are Your Friend

Sequential workflows get messy – quickly

Example: Press Release Author Management Legal Publisher

You may think it looks like this… Start Publisher deploys to public web site End Manage r approve s Yes No Lawyer Approv es Yes No

Or perhaps this… Start Publisher deploys to public web site End Author Revis es Yes No Manage r Approv es Yes No Lawyer Approv es Yes No

We can make it messier… Professional editorial review Lawyer with question for management

How About This Instead? AuthorManagerLegalPublisher

How About This Instead? (re) Submit? Author EndManager OK? Manager AuthorLegal Choice Legal AuthorManagerPublish Publisher Manager Publisher

Easy User Participation

Who Understands All of This? Start Publisher deploys to public web site End Author Revis es Yes No Manage r Approv es Yes No Lawyer Approv es Yes No

Who understands this part? This person. (re) Submit? Manager AuthorLegal

Who understands this part? This person. (re) Submit? Author EndManager

Easy to adjust

How About This? (re) Submit? Author EndManager OK? Manager AuthorLegal Choice Legal Author Publisher Manager Publisher End Publisher

How About This? (re) Submit? Author EndManager OK? Manager AuthorLegal Choice Legal Author Publisher Manager Publisher End Publisher (re) Submit? Editor AuthorManager Editor

Easy to restore

The alternative is yucky

Use Forms and Workflow Together

Worst Example: Form-Only App

If (x and y) then do this do that End if If (user is Bob) then do this and that and the other thing undo that End if If (x and y) then do this do that End if If (x and y) then do this do that End if If (user is Bob) then do this and that and the other thing undo that End if If (x and y) then do this do that End if

If (x and y) then do this do that End if If (user is Bob) then do this and that and the other thing undo that End if If (x and y) then do this do that End if If (x and y) then do this do that End if If (user is Bob) then do this and that and the other thing undo that End if If (x and y) then do this do that End if

If (x and y) then do this do that End if If (user is Bob) then do this and that and the other thing undo that End if If (x and y) then do this do that End if If (x and y) then do this do that End if If (user is Bob) then do this and that and the other thing undo that End if If (x and y) then do this do that End if

If (x and y) then do this do that End if If (user is Bob) then do this and that and the other thing undo that End if If (x and y) then do this do that End if If (x and y) then do this do that End if If (user is Bob) then do this and that and the other thing undo that End if If (x and y) then do this do that End if

Form-Only App Problems Logic either hidden or disconnected Security Complexity without code

Process Logic Presentation Logic

Three-Tier Solutions

Presentation Process Data

All forms have processes

Better Example: Workflow on a Form

Problems That Remain Form rules still needed Form & workflow must be kept in sync Workflow has many extra steps

This is not 1 form with 31 pages

This is 1 workflow with 8 forms for 3 people

Best Example: Workflow with Multiple Forms

One Form Per Step Content Submit (list item or form library) Workflow Start (manually-executed workflows only) Workflow Task

Task Forms Workflow can route data to tasks Forms contain exactly what’s needed Securable to specific users Can combine with structured document

Why this is good Forms stay simple Forms are specific to tasks Workflow is simpler Data can live anywhere Easier to secure It doesn’t fight the platform

Workflow is Not Access

Master/Detail Forms

Master-Detail

Problems with Master-Detail No two-phase commit No set integrity

Presentation Logic Data Access Logic Process Logic

Use a Repeating Section with a Workflow

Don’t Forget to Measure

Least-Loved Techniques Browsing individual history entries Building custom reports

You’re Already Using SharePoint The list itself can be the report Users can sort, group, filter on metadata Write progress information to item properties Stage Workflows already do this

Know When to Use SharePoint Workflow (and Which One)

Good Uses of SharePoint Workflow Managing how people work Document approval & feedback Collaborative reviews & discussions Gathering signatures

Good Uses of SharePoint Workflow Automating some of SharePoint’s behavior Approve site creation requests Parse incoming in a list and act on it Publishing items to target Moving project proposals through lifecycles

Possible Uses of SharePoint Workflow Manipulating other applications, data sources Employee onboarding Resource scheduling SharePoint lists become work queues

Bad Uses of SharePoint Workflow Transaction-oriented processes Blocking or modifying activity Application-to-application service activity Aggressive data transformations Work that doesn’t involve SharePoint at all

“Form” can mean many things…

Structured Documents Coupled to data Contains data Records scenarios Eden Stafford Sales Pens 3.00 > Pencils 1.00 > Paper >

Data UI Coupled to data Connected to data source View/edit scenarios

Solution UI Decoupled from data Data packaged, parsed Task scenarios

Standalone App Form holds data Form holds process Form holds everything

Recap Everyday processes matter, too Failure is good Stages are practical Use forms and workflow together Workflow is not Access Don’t forget to measure Think about whether SharePoint workflow is the right tool “Form” is not a single concept

Thanks!