concept sequential workflow in category sharePoint

This is an excerpt from Manning's book SharePoint 2010 Workflows in Action. Login to get full access to this book.

Workflows execute from one to another step in the process in two ways. A workflow is either sequential—in that the steps within the workflow execute sequentially, one after another—or a workflow is a state machine, whereby it executes in no particular order. A sequential workflow always progresses forward, never going back to a previous step (figure 1.6).

A sequential workflow always progresses forward and never goes back to a previous step. Figure 8.9 shows what a sequential workflow looks like on the Visual Studio workflow Designer surface.

Figure 8.9. Sequential workflows move in only one direction—forward.

8.2. Building a sequential workflow

Now comes the time to build your first SharePoint workflow in Visual Studio. Because sequential workflows are less complex than their state machine counterparts, you’ll start with them. To add some real-world flavor into the mix, you’ll build a workflow that tracks the progress of maintenance work orders. The scenario involves a college that needs a system for students to submit maintenance requests for their dormitories. When a student submits a work order, the order is assigned to one of the maintenance workers who then performs the work, closing out the order and completing the workflow. Figure 8.12 shows the happy path this workflow will take.