Introduction to Workflows in SharePoint 2013

•   Introduction to workflows.
• .Why we need Workflow?
•  Common Workflow Scenario.
•  Reusable and Non-Reusable Workflows.
•  Typical Workflow Usage in SharePoint
• Designer, Visio and Visual Studio
• Declarative & Compiled Workflows
•  Out of the Box Workflows

 Introduction to workflows.

            Workflows help people to collaborate on documents and to manage project tasks by implementing business processes on documents and items in a Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 site. Workflows help organizations to adhere to consistent business processes, and they also improve organizational efficiency and productivity by managing the tasks and steps involved in business processes. This enables the people who perform these tasks to concentrate on performing the work rather than managing the workflow.

                                        

Why we need Workflow?

Workflow provides a convenient way to automate manual business processes.

The activities in the Workflow can be represented in a graphical manner and adds great flexibility to a developer and non-developer. Using Workflow we can easily achieve the branching, cases and executions in an easier manner

Common Workflow Scenario

We can apply Workflow for the following scenarios.

Scenario 1: A task list allows creation of task for users. Whenever a new task is created in the list, we need to notify the user associated with it. We can use Workflow to accomplish this easily.

Scenario 2: A company consists of developers with various skill sets. There is a set of Training Items. Each developer can apply for the training. The application will be notified to the Training Manager. He can check the skill set and approve or reject the applicant. If selected, the applicant can attend the training. On completion of training there is a verification exam to be undergone by the attendee. If he passes then Certificate is issued else the notification through email is done. We can use Workflow to accomplish this easily.

Scenario 3: People upload their expense reports into a Document Library. The library captures the expense as a separate field. Every week manager has to change status to Approved for the expenses with less than $ 500. The list contains hundreds of entries. The status updation can be done using Workflow in just 1 minute.

Scenario 4: Client can create a bug and it should be notified to Developer through email. Developer on completion of the bug fix changes the status and the Client gets notified. This whole process can be done through Workflow in an easier manner.

Reusable and Non-Reusable Workflows

In the case of SharePoint 2007 the workflow created for one list cannot be used for another list. But in SharePoint 2010.2013  the same workflow can be applied for multiple lists and thus making it Reusable. We can create reusable workflows using SharePoint Designer 2010,2013

Typical Workflow Usage in SharePoint

• Developer creates the Workflow.
• Administrator deploys the Workflow
• Site Users use the Workflow.

Designer, Visio and Visual Studio

The SharePoint Designer provides an easier way for Administrators and Developers to create Workflows. Along with Microsoft Visio, Designer provides much more flexibility and features in Workflow creation.

Using Visual Studio developers can write more complex programming tasks with Workflow. Using the SharePoint extensions for Visual Studio, the inbuilt templates provide easier Workflow creation and deployment.

Declarative & Compiled Workflows

The workflows created using SharePoint Designer are known as Declarative workflows.

The workflows containing code and contained inside DLL files are known as Compiled workflows. They are usually created using Visual Studio 2010. 

Workflow Creators

·         A workflow can be created by:

·         Administrator

·         Developer

·         Power User

·          

Workflow Association

·         A workflow can be associated with the following:

·         Content Type

·         List / Library

·         Site

This makes easier to understand that a Workflow can be started manually or automatically.

Workflow Forms

Following are the types of forms associated with workflow:

1. Initiation Forms are shown to user when they start a workflow. The initiation form is used to capture parameters associated with a workflow.

Examples of parameters include Receiver Email list, Maximum Amount etc.

2. Association Forms are used to associate a workflow with a particular list or content type. The association form is by the Administrator.

In reality the Initiation form can be the same as Association form. The user can override the Association form settings using the Initiation form.

We can provide custom Initiation & Association forms using InfoPath as well.

                          Out of the Box Workflows

Following are the Out of the Box Workflows in SharePoint 2010:

·         Three-state

·         Disposition Approval

·         Collect Signatures

·         Collect Feedback

·         Approval