Real World SharePoint® 2007: Indispensable Experiences from 16 MOSS and WSS MVPs

Chapter 9. Creating Workflow in SharePoint Server 2007

by Joris Poelmans

In the mid 1990s, the Workflow Management Coalition (WFMC) published its first definition of workflow:

"The automation of a business process, in whole or part, during which documents, information, or tasks are passed from one participant to another for action (activities), according to a set of procedural rules. A participant can be a person or a system, local or in a remote organization."

This focus on business processes explains why workflow is so important. Well laid-out and efficient business processes differentiate companies from one another. This is why you have probably heard about such methodologies as Continuous Process Improvement (CPI) and Business Process Re-engineering (BPR). Both BPR and CPI are process-centric methodologies that can be supported by a workflow management system.

CPI is part of the Total Quality Management (TQM) approach and focuses on optimizing processes by continuous, incremental improvements, instead of seeking a radical breakthrough. For more information on BPR, see the book Reengineering the Corporation: A Manifesto for Business Revolution by Michael Hammer and James Champy (New York: HarperCollins, 2003).

Workflow in SharePoint Server 2007 is built on top of the Windows Workflow Foundation (WF) framework, which is part of .NET 3.0. WF was introduced because Microsoft noticed that many people were all re-inventing the wheel when trying to implement workflow. Even its own products ...