Chapter 10. Using workflow with TFS

 

This chapter covers

  • Windows Workflow Foundation basics
  • Integrating WF with TFS

Many human interactions are inherently asynchronous. When working with a team of people, you may not always receive instant feedback. Your colleagues may need to perform the requested tasks on their own schedules and convey the results back to you later. Workflow technologies help manage long-running interactions between humans as well as systems. A workflow solution provides an overarching framework for orchestrating a group of activities that may run in sequence or in parallel—in a predefined or dynamic path, based on rules and events. Modern workflow systems support serialization in durable storage, sequential and state-machine based processes, tracking and auditing features, dynamic modifications at runtime, and flexible hosting models. These systems offer a compelling solution for managing team interactions and business processes.

10.1. Company types and workflow issues

10.2. Built-in workflow capabilities in TFS

10.3. An overview of Windows Workflow Foundation

10.4. Creating a central build from distributed TFS machines

10.5. Technical review: using WF to manage a distributed build process

10.6. Enabling workflow persistence

10.7. Enabling workflow tracking

10.8. Summary