Tutorial: Building Business Solutions: InfoPath & Workflows by Jennifer Mason - SPTechCon

Building Business Solutions: InfoPath and WorkflowsJennifer Mason

Rackspace

About me…

•• http://blogs.sharepoint911.com/blogs/jennifer

•

•

Agenda

•

•

•

•

•

•

Introduction

•

•

•

•

•

•

The Product ComponentsIn

tro

du

cti

on

Process Components

•

• InfoPath form?

• SharePoint List form?

• Document in a library?

•

•

•

Intr

od

ucti

on

RequirementsIn

tro

du

cti

on

Today’s Process Automation

• SharePoint Site

• SharePoint Lists

• InfoPath Form w/ Internal Workflow

• Custom SPD Routing Workflow

Intr

od

ucti

on

The SharePoint site

•

• This is the main list for the requests themselves. Workflow is based on this list.

•

• For your first request, fill out information such as frequent flier and airplane seat preferences

•

• These are assigned to approvers throughout the workflow

Intr

od

ucti

on

Our Process Flow

Travel Request Submitted

Manager Approval

CompletionWo

rkfl

ow

Fundamentals

• Creating and filling out a form

• Form layouts

• Form controls

• The data source

• Publishing the form

Creating and Filling Out a Form

•

• Very simplistic. Quick but less functionality

•

• My common choice

•

• Rarely needed

•

• Only needed for client-based forms being filled out on computers with IP 2007.F

un

da

me

nta

ls

Form Layouts

•

•

•

Fu

nd

am

en

tals

Form Controls

•

•

•

•

•

Fu

nd

am

en

tals

Publishing the Form

•

• Browser-based is most common: it doesn’t matter what software client machines have installed.

• Form library is most common, preferred

•

• Administrator-approved is only necessary when the form needs to be used in multiple site collections in the farm.

• Site Content Type – just plain hard to deal with, update and test a form this way.

•

Fu

nd

am

en

tals

Demo

Advanced Concepts

• Views

• Data Connections

• User Profile Services

• Working with rules

• Form options

Views in InfoPath

•

•

• Create different stages of an approval process

• Split a large form in to multiple pages, with “Next Page” to move to next view

• Create a view specifically for printing

• Create a read-only view for a finalized form

•

• New Form

• Approvals

• Read Only

•

Ad

va

nce

d

The Data Source

•

•

•

• For dynamic lookups for drop-downs

• Get user information from the user profile service

• Create cascading drop-downs

•Fu

nd

am

en

tals

Data Connections

•

•

•

Ad

va

nce

d

User Profile Service

•

•

• Receive from web service:YourSiteURLHere/_vti_bin/userprofileservice.asmx

• Pick operation: GetUserProfileByName

•

Ad

va

nce

d

Working with Rules

•

• Validation

• Formatting

• Action

•

•

•

•

Ad

va

nce

d

Form Options

•

•

•

Ad

va

nce

d

Form Submission Concepts

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

Ad

va

nce

d

Demo

Workflow

• Workflow concepts

• Types of workflows in 2010

• SharePoint Designer workflows

• Workflow form

• Pros and Cons of approval methods

Introduction - Concepts

•

• Manual, on Creation, on Change

•

• If WHAT then do something

•

• This is the something that happens according to the condition

•

• The order of progression of the workflow

• Impersonation Steps

Wo

rkfl

ow

Types of Workflows in 2010

•

• Customizable now

• Simplistic

•

• Customizable in easy interface

• Scalable now

•

• Requires developer resources, highly customizable

•

Wo

rkfl

ow

SharePoint Designer Workflows

•

•

•

• Custom task process

• Custom approval process

• Custom feedback process

Wo

rkfl

ow

Our Process Flow

Travel Request Submitted

Manager Approval

CompletionWo

rkfl

ow

Demo

The User Interface

• What is the user’s experience on the site?

• Plan out web parts, such as a button to fill the form out quickly

• Who needs to see the library itself?

• Create an admin page for forms

Define the User Interface

•

•

•

•

Use

r In

terf

ace

Form Admin Interface

•

•

• Current user filter web part can be used

• Show a view of all forms to defined form admins

•

• Don’t over-complicate the workflow just because of simple notification emails.

• Utilize alerts and alerts based on viewsUse

r In

terf

ace

Demo

Want More?

•

3

7

RACKSPACE® HOSTING | 5000 WALZEM ROAD | SAN ANTONIO, TX 78218

US SALES: 1-800-961-2888 | US SUPPORT: 1-800-961-4454 | WWW.RACKSPACE.COM

RACKSPACE® HOSTING | © RACKSPACE US, INC. | RACKSPACE® AND FANATICAL SUPPORT® ARE SERVICE MARKS OF RACKSPACE US, INC. REGISTERED IN TH E UNITED STATES AND OTHER COUNTRIES. | WWW.RACKSPACE.COM