Workflows are one of the highest ROI-generating features of SharePoint. Many corporations waste millions of dollars each year on faulty and inefficient business processes. This is often because these processes are manual and, therefore, time-consuming and undependable. If you adopt SharePoint as your collaboration platform, you are likely to bring your business processes into SharePoint as well (even if you do so unintentionally). The workflow features in SharePoint are a powerhouse that you should tap into. With the help of this book, you can bring your business processes to life.
The primary goal of this book is to teach you how to build custom workflows on the SharePoint 2010 platform. To do this, you need to be comfortable with a host of tools and methodologies such as using out-of-the-box workflows, modeling workflows in Office Visio, building custom forms with InfoPath, building custom workflows with SharePoint Designer, and building custom workflows with Visual Studio. This book covers these workflow-building tools and options. The book also responds to more complicated business requirements with such solutions as state machine workflows, custom activities, workflow modifications, and external communication.
Both IT professionals (nondevelopers) and developers will find this book helpful in building SharePoint workflows. The first seven chapters cover the playing field of IT pros. This book takes no-code workflows to a much deeper level than other books attempt to do in a single chapter.
The first seven chapters are also relevant for developers. Some things that are easy and quick in SharePoint Designer would require considerable time in Visual Studio. Making the jump to Visual Studio happens only after you determine that SharePoint Designer won’t be sufficient. Then, chapters 8 through 12 focus on how to build the most advanced solutions with Visual Studio.
This book is divided into three parts.
Part 1, “Introduction to SharePoint workflows,” introduces workflows, discusses where SharePoint comes into play, and explains which tools to use and how to configure one of the out-of-the-box workflows:
In part 2, “No-code SharePoint workflows,” the book transitions into how to build custom workflows without writing code. Chapters 5 to 7 will be right up the alley of folks who aren’t programmers, although programmers shouldn’t skip these chapters. As a seasoned programmer, I use no-code workflow techniques more frequently than coding techniques:
In part 3, “Custom-coded SharePoint workflows,” you’ll put on your development hat and learn how to build the most complex workflows:
All code in the book is presented in a fixed-width font like this to separate it from ordinary text. Code annotations accompany many of the listings, highlighting important concepts. In some cases, numbered bullets link to explanations that follow the listing.
In longer code examples, only the important code segments are included in the book. You will find the full code for all the examples in the book available for download from the publisher’s website at www.manning.com/wicklund or www.manning.com/SharePoint2010WorkflowsinAction.
Because this is a SharePoint 2010 workflow book, you’ll obviously need Share-Point 2010. If you’re a programmer, this will include a SharePoint development workstation where you have your own local instance of SharePoint 2010. For nondevelopers, browser access to a SharePoint site is sufficient. Workflow in SharePoint 2010 is a feature of SharePoint Foundation, which means SharePoint Server isn’t required. But if your workflow will use server features such as InfoPath Forms Server, you may need SharePoint Server, Microsoft Office Visio 2010, SharePoint Designer 2010, and Visual Studio 2010 (for developers).
The purchase of SharePoint 2010 Workflows in Action includes free access to the private online forum hosted by Manning Publications. There comments can be made, questions can be asked, and help can be given, all on a voluntary basis by the authors and other forum geeks. You can access the forum for this book at www.manning.com/SharePoint2010WorkflowsinAction.
Phil Wicklund has worked with SharePoint since 2004. He started in the SharePoint space as a developer and trainer for Mindsharp, a SharePoint training company. Today, as a SharePoint consultant at RBA Consulting, Phil shares real-world insights and in-depth best practices with clients on a wide range of projects, including architecting a SharePoint solution for a 100K user partner portal, a 70K user intranet, and a 60K heavily customized MySite implementation. Phil maintains an active SharePoint blog at http://philwicklund.com.
Phil lives in Minnesota with his wife Sarah and three children, Adalyn, Noah, and Molly. His hobbies include reading, hunting, home remodeling, and admittedly, mowing the lawn.
Paul Grafelman (chapters 3 and 5) has been in the IT industry for the past 10 years, after earning his bachelor’s degree at Bemidji State University in Northern Minnesota. Paul has been a SharePoint consultant since 2006 when MOSS 2007 was first released. His focus is on infrastructure and out-of-the-box capabilities, with occasional forays into custom development. In addition to consulting, Paul participates in community events and teaches other consultants at RBA Consulting about SharePoint and its capabilities. Paul lives in the Minneapolis area with his wife Lani and two children, Danica and Milaina.
Eric Hanes (chapters 2 and 6) has worked in the IT industry for more than 15 years and has been heavily involved with SharePoint for the last 7. Eric is an information architect and a business analyst, a combination that gives him a unique perspective and the ability to craft solutions based on Business Process Management (BPM) and User Experience Design. Additionally, Eric has experience in dealing with leadership in both the business and technical domains. At this intersection of business acumen and technical depth, Eric is a high-powered liaison within customer organizations who can problem-solve while dealing with technical design.
Wayne Ewington is a principal consultant for Microsoft Consulting Services based in Auckland, New Zealand. He focuses primarily on technologies such as SharePoint (MSS, MSF, MOSS, and WSS), as well as development tools such as Visual Studio Team System (VSTS) and Team Foundation Server (TFS). Wayne is a Microsoft Certified Master on SharePoint 2010 and was one of the first to obtain this certification in Australasia. As a principal consultant, Wayne works with clients and partners, assisting them with the successful deployment and use of Microsoft technologies. During his spare time, he enjoys renovating his 104-year-old house and spending time with his wife and two daughters.
