Quick Reference Guide to Windows Workflow Foundation

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Workflow Overview

Workflows describe a business process

• A series of work units, decisions, and rules needed to complete a specific business process/activity
• People or automated process
• Described graphically
• Long running
• Stateful
• E.g. Sales management, Supply chain automation, Document processing, Bug tracking

Autonomous Workflows in Workflow driven applications.

• Freestanding independent software package providing workflow functionality
• Integration with different application systems (desktop or server) which handle processing of the elementary workflow activities

Embedded Workflows in Workflow based application

• Workflow-functionality is part of the (application) software system (ERP, DMS, PPC etc.)
• Controls the sequence of elementary functions of the system within the application

Why Use Workflow

• Runtime Infrastructure
• Flexible Flow Control
• Long Running and Stateful
• Design Time Transparency
• Runtime Transparency
• Workflow makes development process more understandable.

When to use workflow

• Code increases with the complexity of business processes and becomes correspondingly harder to understand and maintain
• Is apt for Long running transaction where state needs to be maintained
• Coordinate work where part of the work is done by humans and part by the system
• Coordinate multiple processes based on their outcomes
• Compensate for cancelled processes automatically
• Track and audit multiple processes

What is Workflow Foundation

WINDOWS WORKFLOW Foundation – A preview
Windows Workflow Foundation is a framework, not a language.

• Windows Workflow Foundation is flexible and extensible
• Windows Workflow Foundation enables model-driven workflow development
• Makes workflow technology accessible to all .NET developers - means that it provides full support for C# and Visual Basic .NET, debugging, a graphical workflow designer and the ability to develop your workflow completely in code
• Provides capabilities previously only available in BizTalk
• Single workflow technology for the Windows platform
• Finally, “The” technology for Future Release of Biztalk Server
• Component of .NET framework 3.0 –
• Supported on Windows Vista, XP SP2, Server 2003 and above
• Released with Windows Vista in January 2007
• Need Visual Studio 2005 and above for IDE integrated development
• Ships with / used by Office 2007 as well
• Six Microsoft products are built on WF: Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007, Microsoft BizTalk Server "vnext", Microsoft Speech Server 2007, Microsoft System Center "Service Desk", Microsoft Identity Integration Server "future version", and Microsoft Dynamics "future version".