Introducing Workflow Conductor for SharePoint Workflows

UPDATE: Workflow Conductor is now available in our online store.  Download your free 30-day trial copy today!

I'm excited to announce that Workflow Conductor™ is available now as a free beta download at Bamboo Labs. Workflow Conductor is our brand new workflow solution which lets users easily create, deploy, and manage workflows in SharePoint. Built on .NET and Windows Workflow Foundation (WF), Conductor augments and improves the native workflow capabilities built into SharePoint. We see process automation as the next logical step for anyone using SharePoint, and so we have big plans for Conductor going forward, both as a stand-alone solution and as a framework for automating other Bamboo offerings.

There are several components that make up Workflow Conductor, and I'll be covering all of them in more detail with dedicated blog entries. The goal of this introductory post is to provide a quick high-level overview of the different parts:

Workflow Conductor Studio:
Workflow Conductor Studio is a Web-based workflow creation tool that allows users to easily design and deploy workflows using a simple drag-and-drop interface. Just drop the desired "widgets" (aka "activities") in the designer window to create a flowchart view of your workflow, configure a few simple widget settings, and you're ready to deploy. You can even save workflows as templates and reuse them across sites. Conductor Studio also leverages lookups, references, and variables to let you create flexible workflows that are defined at runtime. There are also settings for defining any data you may want to collect from users, either when a workflow is run, or when it's associated with a list/library.

Workflow Conductor Widgets:
Bamboo provides several widgets (activities) that can be used to build customized workflows, and they range from workflow logic (e.g., conditional branching), to simple actions (e.g., sending an email), to more complex features (e.g., requesting feedback or approval). We even have widgets that let you access and manipulate external data (e.g., using our REST API).  Unlike creating activities in Visual Studio, there is no coding required. Simply drop in a widget, then configure its settings as desired.

Workflow Conductor Web Parts:
Bamboo Conductor includes custom Web Parts that give you additional visibility into the workflows being run. The "My Workflows" Web Part gives users a list of workflow instances they have initiated, as well as details such as the current status of the workflow. The "My Workflow Tasks" Web Part gives users a list of details related to any workflows they have initiated. Last, but by no means least, there is a Workflow Reports Web Part which gives you a flexible interface for viewing workflows by status and timespan for a site or for an entire site collection.

Workflow Conductor Administration:
Bamboo Conductor adds a management console directly into SharePoint's Central Administration which allows an administrator to define some global settings for the product.  Examples include an at-a-glance listing of which widgets are available, and the ability to view a list of all instances of workflows running across any Web App where Conductor is installed. Some of these areas are still under construction during the beta, but we'll have them fleshed out for the release.

We'll be adding more features and updating the interface while it's in the Labs, but don't wait to download and try it out. The quicker we hear what you like/dislike, or what you need/don't need, the quicker we can get those changes into the product. Your feedback will help shape Workflow Conductor into the perfect tool for your needs, so head on over to Bamboo Labs now to get your copy, and please let us know what you think!

More information on Bamboo Conductor:

• Introducing Workflow Conductor
• Download Workflow Conductor
• Installing Workflow Conductor
• Building Workflows with Workflow Conductor Studio
• Post your questions in the Workflow Conductor Forums