Professional K2 blackpearl®

Chapter 9. Creating Your First Workflow

Sergio Del Piccolo

K2 allows for rapid development of process-driven applications using a multitude of tools. Workflows can easily be designed using canvases that allow for graphical development through dragging and dropping of activities. These activities are made up of events and can be joined through connectors known as lines. The graphical output is an illustrated process that is easy to understand, hiding any code that may be required.

Because the solution development lifecycle requires a team comprised of different skills, K2 has developed workflow designers that are aimed at different roles within the team. The K2 Designer for Visio is aimed at the business analyst using a tool that they are familiar with, Microsoft Office Visio 2007. The K2 Designer for Visual Studio is aimed at developers who are not intimidated by Microsoft Visual Studio, and similarly the K2 Designer for SharePoint is aimed at SharePoint business users developing in SharePoint. The folks at K2 have also created a fourth designer, the K2 Studio for developers who do not have Microsoft Visual Studio.

This chapter focuses on creating a workflow using the K2 Designer for Visual Studio. The K2 Designer for Visual Studio is the most sophisticated of the workflow designers, providing an extensive feature set. It allows for the creation of simple workflows, SmartObjects, and complex process-driven applications. Understanding how to use the K2 Designer for Visual Studio creates ...