David Chappell Chappell & Associates 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

WF What’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 WF Illustrating Its Components Base Activity Library (BAL) Workflow Runtime Engine Runtime Services Visual Studio 2005 WF Workflow Designer

Creating WF Workflows The 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 1Site 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 WSS Illustrating Its Components

List Item A Item B Item C... Document Library Windows Server 2003 Windows SharePoint Services Site 1Site 2…Site N SQL Server WF Runtime Engine Internet Information Services Workflow Instances WSS Illustrating WF Workflows Associations Workflow Templates

WSS Interacting 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 Site Workflow 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

WSS Starting a Workflow

WSS Completing a Task

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

WSS Illustrating 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 Server Completing 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:

About the Speaker David Chappell is Principal of Chappell & Associates in San Francisco, California. Through his speaking, writing, and consulting, he helps IT professionals understand, use, and make better decisions about enterprise software. 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 attended by tens of thousands of developers, architects, and decision makers in forty countries. 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 award-winning Independent Technology Guides, and he has been a regular columnist for several publications. In his consulting practice, David has helped clients such as Hewlett- Packard, IBM, Microsoft, Stanford University, and Target Corporation adopt new technologies, market new products, train their sales staffs, and create business plans. 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, 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 Economics and an M.S. in Computer Science, both from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.