1. Building workflows for Microsoft SharePoint Products and Technologies Mohammed Zayed Information Worker Specialist Moh_zd@hotmail.com Mohzd.blogspot.com

2. Agenda Windows Workflow Foundation (WF) overview Microsoft Sharepoint Server in a glance SharePoint Integration with WF Building Workflow in MS SharePoint Designer Workflow authoring scenarios Live Demo - Using the workflow Developing workflow with Visual Studio Live Demo - Building the workflow Workflow Tools Technical Comparisons Microsoft Business Process Management Vision Information Worker Products and Services Resources and Best Practices Summery

3. Windows Workflow Foundation (WF) Single workflow technology for Windows Extensible framework & toolset Base platform for Microsoft, ISV and customer solutions A framework for building workflow into applications A framework to build on - not an application or server Exposed to developers via.NET 3.0 Windows Operating Systems (Client and Server) Office 2007 Future MSFT Application Custom ISV Application.NET 3.0/3.5 Framework Windows Workflow Foundation (WF)

4. Encapsulated logic for coordinating business processes provides abstractions to model real world processes valuable for modeling long running and stateful behavior Workflows in WF are decomposed into activities What are workflows? Sequential workflows modeled as flowchart State machine workflow modeled as state diagram

5. .. What is MS Workflow ? Workflow is a natural way to organize and run a set of work units, or activities, to form an executable file representation of a work process Microsoft Windows platform component that provides a programming framework and tools for development and execution of workflow- based applications WF: Designer for Visual Studio.net Workflow Extensions for.NET Framework 3.0 WF: Runtime Engine MS.NET Framework 3.0/3.5

6. Simplify how people work together Reduce IT costs and improve security Help protect and manage content Find information and improve business insight A New World Of Work TrendsRole of Software Cost pressure Always on, always connected Transparent organization One world of business

7. Portal Search Enterprise Content Management Business Process and Forms Business Intelligence Collaboration SharePoint Investment Areas Platform Services Workspaces, Mgmt, Security, Storage, Topology, Site Model BusinessIntelligence Server-based Excel spreadsheets and data visualization, Report Center, BI Web Parts, KPIs/Dashboards Collaboration Docs/tasks/calendars, blogs, wikis, e-mail integration, project management “lite”, Outlook integration, offline docs/lists Business Process and Forms OOB workflows, WF Integration, Rich and Web forms based front-ends, LOB actions, pluggable SSO Portal Enterprise Portal template, Site Directory, My Sites, social networking, privacy control Search Enterprise scalability, contextual relevance, rich people and business data search Enterprise Content Management Integrated document management, records management, and Web content management with policies and workflow

8. Workflow Services Sequencing State management Tracking capabilities Transaction support WSS Provides custom implementation: transaction, persistence, notifications, roles, tracking, and messaging.

9. What are activities? Activities are reusable components (like form controls) Model based on activity producers and consumers Producer encapsulates logic into reusable black box Producer exposes behavior through properties and events Consumer drops activity on workflow designer in Visual Studio

10. Workflow Authoring Scenarios Visual Studio and Workflow SDK Out-of-the-Box Solutions (with customization) SharePoint Designer Workflow Routing and Approval Review – Approval Signature collection East Asian workflow Structured Ad Hoc Office Server Features List Moderation Publishing Process Document Expiration Tracking Applications Issue tracking LOB Integration Custom Form Actions Email Notification Exception Handling Document Processes Spec Review Weekly Status Report Custom Tracking Apps Service Requests Asset Tracking Industry specific processes Purchase orders Product lifecycle mgmt

11. Office Activity Examples Create Task Complete Task On Task Change Delete Task Update Item Create Item Copy/Delete Item On Item Change Log to workflow history list Activities are the building blocks of workflows.

12. Creating your own Activities Create a new Workflow Activity Library project Inherit from System.Workflow.ComponentModel.Activity Must override the Execute method Write your custom code Define custom Properties

13. WSS Workflow Fundamentals WSS supports workflows on items and documents WF associated with list, document library or content type WF can be started and completed by user actions WF can be configured to start without user action WSS adds a dimension of human accountability All WSS workflows are associated with a task list WSS adds a dimension of tracking and reporting All WSS workflows are associated with a workflow history list

14. ..WSS Workflow Fundamentals Workflow Stages Workflow Association Workflow Initiation Workflow Status Workflow Task Completion

15. Workflows are run on items and documents Workflows associated with list, document library or content type Farm-wide table tracks associations to WF templates WSS Workflow Architecture Workflow Template Collection Workflow Assembly Form 1Form 2Form 3 Workflow Assembly Form 1Form 2 Workflow Assembly Content Type List Document Library Farm-level Workflow Association Table Workflow A Workflow B Workflow C

16. Sample Business Process

17. Simplified Business Process

18. Using The Workflow

19. Developing Workflow Tools Comparison Using Visual Studio.net Designer It’s not for a specific Sharepoint Site Developing custom code to your activities Design Forms to communicate with users Done by Professional Developer Can author both sequential and state workflows Using Sharepoint Designer It’s for a specific Sharepoint Site Code-free, declarative rules-based workflows. you are in effect assembling pre-existing activities into workflows Likely Done by Web designer or Knowledge worker. Can Author sequential workflow only. http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms461944.aspx

20. What Is SharePoint Designer? New product targeted at enterprise solution creators and designers using SharePoint technologies Great web design tool High quality design surface and integrated code view Deep web standards support (XHTML, CSS, XSLT, XML) Excellent ASP.NET support (control hosting, prop editing, data binding, intellisense) Part of MS family of web tools: Microsoft Office SharePoint Designer Expression Web Designer Visual Studio Web Developer

21. The Workflow Designer Creating application logic without code

22. Workflow Designer Overview RAD workflow development tool Deep SharePoint integration Low barrier to entry Enables new scenarios: Custom SharePoint List logic Reporting & tracking apps (event-based )

23. Rule-Based “No Code” Workflows Built on Windows Workflow Foundation hosting in SharePoint Workflows are composed of pre-existing building blocks and conditional logic Based on Events, Conditions, and Actions Described by XOML files in web site Triggered by initiation form or list events Supports rich data binding to list items Extensible via custom actions, conditions

24. Sample Workflow Actions Assign Custom Task Send Email Create/Update/Delete List item Collect Feedback Wait for Timer Wait for Data Change

25. Creating a custom workflow in Sharepoint Designer

26. Development Steps 1. Model workflow in Visual Studio 2. Create and bind InfoPath forms 3. Deploy to SharePoint server 4. Debug the running workflow

27. Workflow Deployment Compile your workflow template as a strong-named assembly. Create the feature definition file that provides Windows SharePoint Services with the information necessary to deploy your workflow at the specified scope. Create the workflow definition file that provides Windows SharePoint Services with the information necessary to instantiate and run the workflow. Set the deploy property so that building the solution deploys the workflow files to the correct location, copies the workflow assembly to the global assembly cache (GAC), and activates the workflow feature in Windows SharePoint Services.

28. Model Workflow In Visual Studio Prerequisites: Visual Studio 2005 extensions for WF – (RC5) SharePoint 2007 SDK – Visual Studio templates for SharePoint workflow Create project of type “SharePoint Sequential Workflow Library” Create the workflow Visual Studio 2005 extensions for WF http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=5D61409E- 1FA3-48CF-8023-E8F38E709BA6 SharePoint Server 2007 SDK: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=6d94e307- 67d9-41ac-b2d6-0074d6286fa9

29. Association form User adds workflow to a list For setting options on WF Initiation form For manual workflow start Collects workflow parameters Task completion form A user to edit a task from WF User edits or enters data Modification form Linked off WF status page Can modify in-flight WF Create And Bind InfoPath Forms Types of InfoPath forms in Workflows

30. Create And Bind InfoPath Forms InfoPath forms are used in these places

31. Hosting Environment Create And Bind InfoPath Forms SharePoint hosts the InfoPath form InfoPath Form Templates

32. Hosting Environment Create And Bind InfoPath Forms Data from SharePoint is passed in InfoPath Form Templates SharePoint object _________

33. Hosting Environment Create And Bind InfoPath Forms Submit the form, saves data to SharePoint InfoPath Form Templates SharePoint object _________

34. Hosting Environment Create And Bind InfoPath Forms SharePoint starts the workflow InfoPath Form Templates SharePoint object _________ SharePoint -> Task/WF Host

35. SharePoint Task instructions = “Please do this.” Task data as xml ItemMetadata.xml Create and Bind InfoPath Forms Pushing data from WF task into IP InfoPath Task Form <z:row xmlns:z=“#RowsetSchema” ows_instructions=“”/>

36. Deploy To SharePoint Server Generate Metadata files Feature.XML Workflow.XML Create the CAB (WSP) Box admin installs “WSP” file Install/activate the “feature” IISReset Associate workflow to the list/library

37. Debug The Running Workflow Visual Studio running on server machine Open the workflow in Visual Studio Attach to all of the W3WP Processes Start the workflow

38. Building The Workflow

39. Recap – Steps involved Create Workflow project in Visual Studio 2005 Model the workflow Create and bind InfoPath forms Design workflow code and activities Sign and compile the assembly Author the feature definition file Add GUID Add title Add description Add manifest location Author workflow template definition file Add GUID Add name Add description Add form URN’s Add assembly details extract the public key Run the post build event to deploy the workflow Associate the workflow to a list Attach to the W3WP.exe process and debug

40. VSTO to make it easier Visual Studio tools for Office (VSTO) soon to be released Include new VS templates for SharePoint workflow Development steps with VSTO Create workflow in Visual Studio Tools for Office Design the actual workflow, add code etc. (This is the “real” developer task) Press F5

41. Advanced Workflow Features

42. Collaboration and Communications Information workers need tools to enable them to work collectively irrespective of any geographical barriers. Empowering Global Teams with Collaborative Workspaces Unified Communications Connecting People, Process, and Information Knowledge Network for SharePoint Server 2007 Communications that once were separate become unified E-mail, instant messaging, and Web conferencing are available to people in the context of the work they are doing Teams can easily collaborate by using workspaces that match when, how, and where they are working

43. Business Processes Organisations need tools to define a collection of related structural activities that produce something of value Information workers need tools to enable them to easily undertake these activities providing appropriate inputs and handling the outputs. Workflow – e.g. Approval, Request Feedback, Translation Window Workflow Foundation Workflows in flight are persisted in SharePoint Human workflow interaction via Office Client or SharePoint. Out of the box standard patterns re shipped with MOSS 2007 Custom workflows developers using SharePoint Designer 2007 Complex workflow developers using Visual Studio Windows Workflow is great for workflow within an application whereas BizTalk is great for workflow across applications and this is precisely why BizTalk shines in Enterprise Application Integration scenarios Business Process Orchestration and Integration Process Orchestration Adapters Message translation Well proven – high scalable Extensive admin and analytics tools Biztalk Adapter for SharePoint Libraries Electronic Forms Scalable, security-enhanced, standards-based data- gathering solution

44. Business Intelligence Information workers need tools to make well informed business decisions and enable competitive advantage. Business Insight Drive Business Performance Microsoft Office PerformancePoint Server 2007 Performance management process through personalized Web-based scorecards Advanced analytic and data visualization capabilities Planning, budgeting and forecasting Dashboards, KPI web parts Browser based access to spreadsheet functionality Connect to OLAP cubes / SQL 2005 Analysis Services

45. Project and Portfolio Organisations need tools to effectively manage and coordinate work, resources and costs … ranging from one-time projects to complex programs and portfolios across the business. Effectively manage and coordinate work from simple projects to complex programs Manage projects and programs Control resources and finances Time and status reporting Manage projects, programs and applications Align portfolios with business strategies Advanced portfolio analytics and optimization Identify, select, manage, and deliver portfolios that align with their business strategy

46. Thank you!