1. K2 blackpoint Fundamentals
K2 BLACKPOINT FUNDAMENTALS MODULE 1: UNDERSTAND
K2 blackpoint Fundamentals
Module 1: Understand
J Scott Pitman –
This module introduces the K2 blackpoint platform, and provides a high level overview of the tools, including the designers and the K2 Server, as well as the basic process building blocks.
Module Presentation and Demos:
This module provides students with the basic understanding of what K2 blackpoint is, including the tools that are part of the K2 blackpoint framework, and when you would want to use the software.
Hands on Lab:
There are no lab exercises associated with this module.
Module Training Objectives:
After completing the module, you will be able to:
Describe where K2 blackpoint fits within the K2 and SharePoint platforms
Identify the various designers and tools used during K2 development
Define the role the K2 Server plays
Identify the basic components of a process, including activities, events, and line rules
Module Materials:
The module materials include:
This slide presentation, including the instructor’s slides (available by selecting View > Slide Show) and the student’s notes (available by selecting View > Notes Page)
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2. K2 BLACKPOINT FUNDAMENTALS MODULE 1: UNDERSTAND
Overview
What is K2 blackpoint?
When would we want to use K2 blackpoint?
understand
How do we model an application with K2 blackpoint?
What tools are available? What is the procedure?
model
Which technologies are involved in K2 blackpoint implementations?
build
What tools and procedures are used to maintain K2 blackpoint implementations?
maintain
How can we do more with K2 blackpoint?
What are the limitations of K2 blackpoint?
extend
This module focuses on the understand section of the course.
This module answers questions that you may be asking yourself, such as:
Why use K2 blackpoint at all?
What are some of the common terms and concepts that are used in K2 solutions? What do they mean to me?
What are the parts of K2 blackpoint, including the language and procedures?
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3. K2 BLACKPOINT FUNDAMENTALS MODULE 1: UNDERSTAND
What is K2 blackpoint, the product?
K2 blackpoint
SharePoint
K2 blackpoint™ is a Business Process Management (BPM) solution for SharePoint, which has become the de-facto portal, collaboration and content management platform for a wide spectrum of businesses. Based on the same K2 platform as K2 blackpearl, K2 blackpoint represents a low-cost solution for rich, visual designing, managing and reporting for workflow and process-based applications that operate in the context of SharePoint. K2 blackpoint promises and delivers a rapid "no-code" approach to building powerful business applications for SharePoint. Furthermore, if the need arises, K2 blackpoint can be upgraded to K2 blackpearl, the flagship BPM product from K2, for additional non-SharePoint functionality and extending to other line of business (LOB) systems.
K2 blackpoint is for anyone who uses SharePoint. K2 blackpoint focuses on enhancing the workflow and workflow-based solution capabilities of SharePoint.
K2 blackpoint is for:
Any organization planning to build business processes in SharePoint
Any organization using Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007
Any organization using Windows SharePoint Services v3
Any organization that wants workflow beyond what SharePoint workflow can provide
Any size organization, in any vertical
As a company, K2 and its products are focused on the management of information in motion. Organizations operate by moving data. K2 manages the moving data.
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4. K2 BLACKPOINT FUNDAMENTALS MODULE 1: UNDERSTAND
how are K2 blackpoint applications used?
People interact with K2 applications using SharePoint. Including using Lists, Workflow forms, and InfoPath forms. People also use the K2 Worklist Web Part to interact with user tasks.
Reporting and administration is handled through K2 Process Portals that live inside SharePoint.
When people use K2-enabled applications, K2 is invisible, driving the interaction but staying out of the way. People use the familiar SharePoint interface, such as interacting with lists or document libraries to add information or using the SharePoint Workflow forms to participate in a process. People can also use Microsoft Office documents, such as InfoPath forms or starting processes from within other products in the Microsoft Office stack (e.g., Word, Excel, PowerPoint). K2 manages the movement of all that data throughout the entire user experience.
The K2 Worklist Web Part in K2 blackpoint provides a central location to access all tasks assigned to a user. This location can be any SharePoint page on any farm or site collection, including a user's My Site. Task filtering and context menus that allow task redirection (reassignment) and delegation further add to the management of K2-related tasks.
K2 blackpoint is built for SharePoint and designed to feel like a familiar part of the SharePoint and Office environment. The management and reporting of processes is done through a collection of K2 Web Parts that make up a Process Portal. Processes are managed in a Process Portal. Typical tasks include setting process rights, monitoring different versions and instances, identifying potential problems, managing individual and global worklists, and creating K2 roles. Because the Web Parts run inside SharePoint, they give an administrator or process analyst access to everything they need to know in a familiar environment.
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5. K2 BLACKPOINT FUNDAMENTALS MODULE 1: UNDERSTAND
how are K2 blackpoint applications built?
K2 Studio OR
K2 Process Designer
K2 blackpoint applications are modeled and built in one of two design environments: K2 Studio or K2 Process Designer. These applications are then deployed to the K2 Server, where they can then be used by anyone with proper security permissions.
When you are designing your process, that process has to live within a project container. The K2 Project contains all of the necessary references and files to fully describe the process.
For example, when you create a process in K2 Studio, you will see that the Solution Explorer changes to include both the project and process:
You can have many processes per project. However, you can only have one project open at a time.
If you were to look at the file system where you saved your K2 project, you would see the following files within the K2WorkflowProject1 folder:
K2 project files have the file extension of .k2proj. K2 process files have the file extension of .kprx. Any additional supporting files, in this case the InfoPath form templates associated with the process, can also be found within the folder structure. The presentation of the process in each design canvas may be different, but the core pieces that make up the process are the same regardless of the designer.
design
deploy
use
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6. K2 BLACKPOINT FUNDAMENTALS MODULE 1: UNDERSTAND
designing K2 blackpoint applications
K2 Studio
Installed on analyst’s computers
Full functionality with no code
K2 Process Designer
No installation, requires Silverlight
Limited functionality with ease of use
Two process design tools are available with K2 blackpoint:
K2 Studio
K2 Process Designer
Both tools allow you to design and deploy processes, and both tools are targeted at the Business Analyst. K2 Studio is a Windows-based application, meaning that it needs to be installed on a user’s computer. The K2 Process Designer is available through the browser, so nothing extra needs to be installed on a user’s computer. However, Internet Explorer 7.0 or later and Microsoft Silverlight are required to use the K2 Process Designer.
Beyond the installation differences, the two applications have some functional differences as well. Each designer will be discussed in more detail in later modules. You will also get some hands on experience with each designer while you build out solutions on K2 blackpoint.
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7. K2 BLACKPOINT FUNDAMENTALS MODULE 1: UNDERSTAND
the role of the K2 Server
K2 Client Event
Worklist
K2 Server Event
People
Systems
K2 assigns work to people and
manages the completion of that
work using K2 Client Events
Work assigned to a user is
collected in his own Worklist
Each user’s worklist tracks all the
work they have been assigned
across all running K2 processes
K2 assigns work to machines and
manages the completion of that
work using K2 Server Events
Work assigned to machines
is executed immediately
People interact with the K2 server to complete their work assignments using User Interfaces, or forms. Forms are the way in which an end user interacts with a process, either by gathering or displaying information. The K2 integration with forms is known as Client Events. Two types of forms technologies can be used with K2 blackpoint: InfoPath and SharePoint Workflow task forms. You will learn about the integration points in later modules.
Regardless of the forms technology used, the drop down menu that a user selects an action from is controlled by the K2 Server, not the form. This field is known as the Task Action Field. The possible values are automatically populated in the form template by the process, eliminating the need for a form template to be updated when the business logic of the workflow changes. For example, a deployed process contains two actions, "Approve" and "Decline." A third option, "Rework," may become necessary based on business conditions, so the process needs to be updated and redeployed. The form, however, does not require updating because the values are provided by the K2 Server.
The K2 Worklist will display all tasks assigned to a user by the K2 Server. In some cases, the task can be actioned directly from the worklist, depending on the process design. In all cases, the form can be opened from the worklist, and once it is actioned the process will be updated to reflect the completion of the task.
Processes can also interact with the K2 Server to complete work assignments. Because the system does not require a user interface, the work assigned is completed automatically. Server Events tell the systems what work to complete and pass the information provided by the user to the system.
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8. K2 BLACKPOINT FUNDAMENTALS MODULE 1: UNDERSTAND
applications and processes
K2 blackpoint applications are made up of one or more K2 processes
It is helpful to consider any K2 process lifecycle in two parts: Start and Run
Process Start
Process Running / Active
InfoPath Integration
SharePoint Workflow Integration
SharePoint Events Integration
K2 Client Events (work for people)
K2 Server Events (work for machines)
K2 blackpoint applications extend the functionality of SharePoint workflow and are made up of one or more K2 processes. These processes can interact with SharePoint in a variety of ways, and can work with content across multiple sites or site collections.
When visualizing a K2 process, it is helpful to consider the way a process begins, or the process start, and the way the process is designed, or the process running, separately.
Process Start is linked to an event that occurs within SharePoint, such as the submission of an InfoPath form, the creation of a list item, or the modification of a document.
K2 blackpoint supports three ways to start a process:
InfoPath Integration
SharePoint Workflow Integration
SharePoint Events
Process Run is what happens when a process is running. For example, which users need to interact with the process or what things need to happen on the server side as a result of the process.
K2 blackpoint supports two kinds of events:
Client Events, which assign work to people
Server Events, which assign work to machines
Two K2 Server Events are worth a special mention:
IPC Event. This event allows one K2 process to call out and start another process. IPC Events are used to link multiple K2 processes and can be used to create modular solutions.
Reference Event. This event allows process designers to include external functionality in K2 processes by calling Web Services or .NET assemblies and reacting to the results of the call.
All the events, both client and server, will be described in more detail in a later module.
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9. K2 BLACKPOINT FUNDAMENTALS MODULE 1: UNDERSTAND
activities, events and lines
Start Activity
This is an illustration of the simplest possible process allowed with K2 blackpoint.
This process has a Start Activity where the process begins.
This process has one Activity other than the start activity. This activity is attached to the default Start Activity with a Line.
Lines are one possible container for the Rules that drive K2 processes.
Except for start, every Activity must include at least one Client Event or Server Event.
Line
Activity
Event
Activities act as the containers for events within a process. All K2 processes have a Start Activity by default, which cannot be removed. The Start Activity represents the beginning of a K2 process, regardless of how the process actually starts.
The process illustrated above is the simplest K2 process. Every process must have at least one activity connected to the Start Activity. The simplest activity has at least one Client or Server Event. Activities can include multiple events, but only one client event per activity.
Activities are important components in the process because they represent points where decisions can be made, data can be delivered, or actions can be carried out. The business logic surrounding an activity includes concepts like: “who must be involved in the activity,” and “are there any pre-requisites that must be met before workflow participants can start with the activity.” Activities are the logical grouping of related events. For example, let’s use an example of “Pull from Inventory” as an Activity. In this step in the process, several tasks actually need to take place, such as “Check Inventory Levels at Local Store,” “Lookup Inventory in Warehouse,” and so forth. The activity groups the related events together. The order in which the sub-tasks will occur is from top to bottom.
It is important while designing your process to recognize that activities can group events together, but only events that should be performed by the same entity. For example, in the “Pull from Inventory” activity above, all of the events are server events. If a task requires a user to intervene, then it should be split into its own activity so that the activity rules can be defined separately.
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10. K2 BLACKPOINT FUNDAMENTALS MODULE 1: UNDERSTAND
rules
Line rules are based on Boolean logic.
This just means that the rule must evaluate to either true or false.
In the example below, the line rule will evaluate to true
(if expense amount is less than or equal to $5000) OR
(if the expense type is “cellphone” AND amount < $50)
Line rule
Boolean
Line rules that evaluate to true are followed to the next Activity.
Line rules that evaluate to false are ignored.
Line rules often use data stored in Process Data Fields or Process XML Fields.
One of the most important properties of processes are the business logic and rules to route the process. Three possible containers exist for business rules in K2 processes:
Process Rules, which define the business logic surrounding the process
Activity Rules, which define the who and when of each activity
Line Rules, which route the process based on decisions
All rules are modeled after one of two types, either Boolean Rules or Timing Rules.
Boolean rules can consist of multiple statements connected with Boolean AND, OR, XOR operators.
You can also indent the operators to create complicated logic statements. Be sure to test each branch in your process definition during the testing phase of your project to ensure that the process follows the correct path based on the line rule logic. It is very easy to make a simple mistake in your Boolean logic that will cause certain branches in your process to never fire.
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11. K2 BLACKPOINT FUNDAMENTALS MODULE 1: UNDERSTAND
summary
K2 blackpoint is a platform for developing applications that extend workflow functionality in SharePoint.
Applications are deployed to a K2 server at which point anyone with proper permissions may use the application as designed.
Applications are made up of one or more processes. When designing K2 processes it is helpful to consider the process start and process run separately.
Processes contain one or more activities, or stages, that are connected by lines. Lines are one possible container for business rules.
Each activity must contain at least one client event or server event. Client events assign work to people while server events assign work to machines.
This module has introduced you to several key concepts for K2 blackpoint, including:
How K2 blackpoint fits within the K2 platform and SharePoint
How applications are used and built
What role the K2 Server plays
What an application is and how it relates to a process
What the basic building blocks of processes are, including activities, events, and lines
The next module will build on these concepts, describing the building blocks in more detail and how you use these blocks to model your processes. Be sure that you understand the high level concepts introduced in this module before moving on to the next module.
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12. K2 BLACKPOINT FUNDAMENTALS MODULE 1: UNDERSTAND
This module has been a high level introduction to the various components and features of K2. If you have any questions about the material presented thus far, be sure to ask your instructor. You will use the information you learned in this module by building solutions on the hands-on virtual environment, so be sure you have a good grasp of the information before moving on.
Questions?
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