Creating Workflows Using Sharepoint Server 2010

Introduction:

SharePoint 2010 is a very versatile program that enables organisations to develop sequential workflows according to a logical sequence. Before initiating the development of a workflow, it is important to understand the various components that it consists of.

Components of a SharePoint 2010 workflow:

There are four main components and they include:

Events: It is a process that happens in a workflow that causes a particular action to occur. One of the most common events is the starting event wherein the user makes a request.

Steps: It is a basic structure that dictates the flow of logic in a workflow and comprises of actions and conditions.

Conditions: They are conditional statements that control the direction of flow of control within the workflow. SharePoint 2010 has many built in conditions that allow developers to successfully create the conditions as per their requirements.

Actions: Once the steps and conditions have been processed, they lead to certain instructions called actions. In this version an action could be anything like sending an email or performing a certain job. The offshore sharepoint development team can build the actions during the development stage.

Streamlining a process and using inbuilt tools:

Once the basics are clear, then the next stage is utilizing the inbuilt workflows and optimizing your process. In any workflow that is created, there are always stages where approval is needed from higher authorities before the step can be executed. This is a time consuming step and therefore this version has several inbuilt features that are ready to use immediately after launching the product.

Guide to the use of SharePoint 2010 inbuilt workflows:

It has several low cost, simple complexity inbuilt workflows that make implementing the workflow convenient and easy. They are a very good options when the type of action desired is a simple one or doesn't need too much modification. They are built into the user interface, so there are no special tools required to use them. The following are some basic tips and guidelines to follow when using inbuilt workflows.

There are two new features that can help to increase the flexibility of the approval process - Reassignment and Multiple Assignment stage. Reassignment allows approvers to reassign their work to others. Multiple Assignment stage allows SharePoint developers to create several steps of parallel or serial approval without the need to manually build the workflow.

The use of workflows that start automatically on addition or editing of items is highly recommended because workflows which are manually actuated can be daunting to users that are not familiar with this version.

If for any reason the workflow must be started by a manual action, the addition of custom options onto the menu - List Item is a good idea. They help to improve the workflows visually. These can be added to the SharePoint 2010 workflow without the need to change XML settings or write code.