SharePoint Tip of the Month

Unlocking the Code For True, Cost-Effective SharePoint Workflow

More than three years ago we wrote a SharePoint Tip of The Month entitled Understanding Workflow Capabilities in SharePoint 2007. The tip discussed the three levels of workflow available to those implementing SharePoint sites that automated business processes. To summarize, the three levels of workflow discussed are:

• Out of the box workflows such as those for document approval or feedback collection are very basic and offer no opportunity for extendibility to match business processes that don’t exactly match the given functionality.
• SharePoint Designer (SPD) only allows for very simple workflows (e.g., only simple serial workflows with minimal workflow paths). Additionally, workflow actions are significantly limited. Creation of SPD workflows requires the SPD client application on the desktop. Workflows in SPD can only be created and associated for a single list or library at a time; therefore, to reuse a workflow it must be recreated for every list or library with which it needs to be associated. Finally, because SPD workflows are created outside of SharePoint (i.e., using the desktop designer application), they must be published to a SharePoint site in order to then be used. This requires IT resource skills.
• Custom developed workflows based on Visual Studio enable the creation of complex, fully customized workflows in SharePoint. Visual Studio is a .NET development tool and requires specialized skills experienced in .NET development, Windows Workflow Foundation and SharePoint.

Over the last three years of SharePoint 2007 deployments, the use of workflow to automate complex business processes still remains the exception rather than the norm. Organizations recognize the limitations of SharePoint Designer. And most companies don’t have the internal skills nor budget to outsource development of custom built workflows. As such, most enterprises have focused on the collaborative and content management areas of their SharePoint deployment and have remained on the fence when it comes to leveraging SharePoint strategically for process automation.

But this needn’t be the case. In fact, organizations are missing out on one of the single most important capabilities inherent in their SharePoint investment. More than a couple of third party products exist that attempt to fill the void of workflow capability in SharePoint. This tip introduces one such product whose price/performance ratio make it a virtual “no brainer” for any company who wants to take advantage of their SharePoint platform to enable workflow capability.

Nintex Workflow 2007 extends MOSS and WSS to provide advanced workflow capabilities via a graphical web based interface embedded within SharePoint. Nintex workflows are based on the SharePoint declarative workflow model, and need only be published for them to become immediately available for use. The product bridges the gap between the feature-limited SharePoint Designer workflows and the complex, custom developed Visual Studio workflows.

With Nintex Workflow 2007, organizations that have invested in the SharePoint platform can finally realize the goal of creating and delivering true workflow enabled business applications at a fraction of the cost of developing these workflows using custom .NET code.

The screen shot below shows the workflow development interface embedded directly into the SharePoint environment. On the left is a view of the actions available to the workflow developer. The action set is rich and broad and includes: programming constructs; interfaces to SharePoint libraries, lists, profiles, sites and workspaces; integration with Exchange, Active Directory, web services, Excel and BizTalk; user interaction; and much more. On the right of the screen shot is an example workflow under development. The visual tool provides a powerful and intuitive interface for building complex workflows.

Beyond the out of the box capabilities of the Nintex Workflow product, developers can extend any workflow by building custom actions or interfaces, and in so doing accomplish most anything that would have previously required full custom development of a Visual Studio based workflow solution.

As a platform, SharePoint 2007 has undoubtedly been a huge success in the marketplace. The product’s out of the box ability to address a whole range of business needs related to collaboration and content management guaranteed this success. While most SharePoint implementers had a sense for the latent potential of SharePoint as a tool for delivering advanced workflow enabled solutions, the ability to realize this potential always seemed just out of reach. Today, with third party add-on products such as Nintex Workflow 2007, the code to true, cost-effective SharePoint workflow has been unlocked. By licensing and implementing such a product, companies can now take their SharePoint implementation to another level and even further leverage the significant value inherent in the platform.