Chapter 4. Task processing in SharePoint Designer workflows
This chapter covers
- Using task actions in SPD workflows
- Building custom task processes in SPD
- Customizing the task edit form
- Responding to task outcomes
By introducing task processes into your workflows, you can greatly increase the efficiency of the interaction between users and workflows. This is because task processes can issue tasks assigned to a user, and the workflow can go idle while it waits for that task to be completed. It’s easy for users to forget they have workflows waiting for their input. By using task lists, you can provide a location that users can easily reference to find their outstanding tasks.
SharePoint Designer has three main task-related actions that help facilitate this process. The Assign a To-do Item action does exactly this; it assigns a task to a user and waits for that task to be completed. If the workflow needs to gather information from the user rather than wait for a task to be completed, the Assign a Form to a Group and Collect Data From a User actions can help take this task processing to the next level.
For more complicated workflow requirements, SharePoint Designer provides another action called the Start a Task Process action. This action creates what Designer calls a task process whereby, instead of basic task processing, you can add actions that respond to all sorts of task-related events, such as task expiration, deletion, and completion.