This print for content only-size & color not accurate 7" X 9-1/4" / casebound / malloy

Getting into the Flow of Workflow

Before we dive into our first code example, allow me to point out a few final thoughts regarding the

“workflow mind-set.” When programming with the WF API, you must keep in mind that you are

ultimately attempting to model a 

business process; therefore, the first step is to investigate the busi-

ness process itself, including all the substeps within the process and each of the possible outcomes.

For example, assume you are modeling the process of registering for a training class online. When a

request comes in, what should you do if the salesperson is out of the office? What if the class is cur-

rently full? What if the class has been canceled or moved to a new date? How can you determine if

the trainer is available, is not on vacation, is not teaching a class that same week, or whatnot?

Depending on your current background, the process of gathering these requirements may be a

very new task, as figuring out a business process may be “someone else’s problem.” However, in

small companies, the act of determining the necessary business processes may fall on the shoulders

of the developers themselves. Larger organizations typically have business analysts who take on the

role of discovering (and often modeling) the business processes.

C H A P T E R   2 6