INTRO TO SHAREPOINT WORKFLOWS

Derek Nishino

Nishino Consulting

derek@nishinoconsulting.com

Agenda

What Are Workflows?Types of Workflows in SharePointWorkflow Creation ToolsOut-of-the-Box Workflows & DemoSharePoint Designer Workflows & DemoWhat to Watch Out For

What are Workflows?

A managed process that executes a series of steps to achieve a business outcome

Think of process flow diagrams, a workflow manages the execution of each step in the process Manages the flow, logic, and execution instead of a human

Employee Manager

Director

Accounts Payable

Account SystemSuppliers

Pay to $

Payroll

ExpenseReport

Expense > $5,000

Approved

Reject/Request Change

Approved

Benefits of Workflows

Improve organizational efficiency of workReduce the time processes take to completeEnsure everyone involved with the process knows where the

process status and who has the ballRemind people of tasks they have to complete if they are

overdueProvide insight into which steps in a process take the

longest to completeProvide audit trails of approvals

Types of SharePoint Workflow

Types of SharePoint Workflow

VS=Visual Studio

K2NintexHarePoint…more

Types of SharePoint Workflow

List/Library WorkflowSite Reusable WorkflowGlobally Reusable Workflow

Not global to farm, just site collection

Reusable Workflows

Use when you want: Same workflow logic to run on more than one list or library

Want central control over changes

Need workflow portability

Be aware of: Changing the workflow definition changes all workflow instances

Use good naming conventions

2010-style reusable workflows can only directly interact with site columns

2013-style reusable workflows can only directly interact with default list/library columns

SharePoint 20-what-style-huh?

2010-style workflows Several useful, well-built sub-processes (e.g. Approval Process)

Many 3rd-Party add-ons (e.g. HarePoint Workflow Extensions)

Linear execution (no looping)

No copy/paste within or across workflows

2013-style workflows Looping

State machine

Copy/paste

Sub-processes not as built-out or configurable

Workflow Creation Tools

Web Browser

SharePoint Designer

Visio

InfoPath (2010-style workflows)

Visual Studio

3rd-Party Tools & Add-Ons

Out-of-the-Box Workflows

Approval – Routes a document or item to a group of people for approval.

Collect Feedback – Routes a document or item to a group of people for feedback. Reviewers can provide feedback, which is then compiled and sent to the person who initiated the workflow. By default, the Collect Feedback workflow is associated with the Document content type, and therefore it is automatically available in document libraries.

Disposition Approval – Manages document expiration and retention by letting participants to decide whether to keep or delete expired documents. The Disposition Approval workflow supports record management processes and is intended for use primarily in a Records Center site.

Collect Signatures – Routes a document that was created in a Microsoft application to a group of people to collect their digital signatures.

Three-state – Designed to track the status of a list item through three states (phases). It can be used to manage business processes that require organizations to track a high volume of issues or items, such as customer support issues, sales leads, or project tasks.

DEMO

OOB Workflow Limitations

Limited email customizationNo process customizationLimited information gathering optionsNo control over workflow logicCan’t alter library or list items

SharePoint Designer Workflows

Customize workflow logic

Pull data from libraries and lists

Send emails

Dynamically build workflow email bodies

Manage approval processes

Add/Update/Delete list items

Write messages to the Workflow History log

Use task forms to gather information

DEMO

SharePoint Designer Workflow Limitations

Limited to actions availableLimited text processing capabilities in 2010, somewhat

better in 2013Line-of-Business system integration optionsScheduled executionNo interaction with lists outside of immediate site (2010)Must use REST web services to work with lists outside of

immediate site (2013)

Watch Out For

Workflow History purgingSharePoint Designer workflow size limitationsHTML in workflow emailsUse of InfoPath (it’s being end-of-life’d)No version control (cannot easily revert back to previous

version)

Don’t Let the Negativity Get You Down!

SharePoint workflows are very useful even without code95%+ of the workflow use cases I’ve encountered can be

done with OOB workflows or SharePoint DesignerBasic workflows are easy to build and useUpgrade well from version-to-version (knock on wood)

Q&A

THANK YOU