Editor's note: I recently sat down with Daisy Anand, leader of the Bamboo Services team, to talk about the work her team is doing. Following the initial Overview of Bamboo Services and a look at the PM Central Services, in this, the third and final part of a three-part series, here's what she had to say about Workflow Conductor Services...
When did Bamboo Services around Workflow Conductor, Bamboo's SharePoint workflow application, become available?
Workflow Conductor Designer Training was our first offering and, as with our Services offerings around PM Central, our Workflow Conductor Designer Training was driven by customer need. We were increasingly fielding questions around how to solve for various workflow scenarios which could have been easily solved by an initial knowledge transfer, and the customer's having gained some additional learning upfront. We began with the Designer class which was soon followed by the Designer Workshop, again based on customer requests for hands-on training.
Can you speak in more detail to each of the core components of the Bamboo Services offering around Workflow Conductor?
Our range of Conductor services is designed to offer our customers an opportunity to not only get the tool installed, but to become proficient in using it to create and optimize workflows. Consequently, the focus of the offerings is on learning and the transfer of knowledge.
- Installation Support, which is an assisted install process where one of Bamboo's expert technical consultants will conduct an assisted install of all components of Workflow Conductor.
- Conductor Designer Training, targeted at workflow designers, provides a deep-dive into the capabilities of Workflow Conductor and the basics of creating and maintaining workflows. This three-hour class begins with a detailed overview of Conductor Studio and some of the most commonly used and important widgets. Conductor Designer Training also includes step-by-step creation and deployment of a sample workflow.
- Conductor Designer workshop, intended to follow the Designer training class, allows students to immediately apply what they've learned in a hands-on environment. Students are provided with step-by-step guidance in creating two workflows, beginning with a simple approval workflow, and then expanding from there by adding complexity to the process. A student workbook is provided.
Are Workflow Conductor Services engagements typically delivered online or on-site?
All of our engagements are typically delivered online using desktop sharing tools. At present, though we are able to accommodate requests for on-site service in special cases where customers are unable to avail themselves of the online method, the online mode is our preferred method of delivery as it is not only highly effective and efficient, but it also eliminates additional travel costs and related expenses.
Who delivers Bamboo Services for Workflow Conductor?
Installations are delivered via a Technical Consultant who is well-versed in various server configurations, and joining me in delivering Designer Training and the workshops are Cynthia Fistler, Senior Technical Writer for the Conductor product team, and Angela Dillon, MCSE, MCTS, MCT. Having support from the Conductor product team in designing and, in some cases, delivering the Services, has created valuable class content and allowed us to make the workflow examples dynamic so that they are contextual to the customer's business process. Feedback from our customers has been extremely positive to date.
What's the duration and course breakdown of a typical Workflow Conductor Services engagement?
Both the Designer class and the Workshop are three hours long, and are typically followed up by email exchanges with the instructor for a couple of weeks beyond the formal class. An installation typically runs from 2-3 hours when there is only one front-end Web server. With more complex server configurations, Installations will run longer.
Given that every SharePoint deployment is different, how much customization is involved in the delivery of a typical Workflow Conductor Services engagement?
We do not get involved in any customization since Services are entirely focused on learning. Moreover, since we are Training the designers to become experts in the tool, and to be able to manage the mapping of their business processes to efficient and well executed workflows using Conductor, customization falls outside the scope of the Services offering.
What are some of the most common questions or requests that you field during a Services engagement around Workflow Conductor?
Most of the questions we field come up during the training sessions, and tend to be related to deployment and maintenance of workflows, as well as how to bridge the gap between standard scenarios and the customer's unique scenarios. For example:
- I don't want the manager lookup to be fixed, so how can I look up a manager from AD?
- How do I run this workflow to go across site collections?
- How do I work around list permissions where the person submitting a form, and thereby kicking off a workflow, does not have write permissions to the underlying list?
Have questions and/or comments from customers during a Services engagement influenced the Workflow Conductor product plan?
Yes, similar to our experience with PM Central Services engagements, customer feedback has helped the Conductor product team to prioritize feature sets that were already on the road map and, in some cases, to add new dimensions to existing widgets.
Are there any special offers available regarding Bamboo Services?
We are currently offering a Workflow Conductor Quick-start package that includes license, premium support, and all three Conductor services offerings. The package is priced at $9,694, a 20% discount off the purchase of the individual components, and includes one each of: Conductor License, Premium Support, Installation Support Services, Designer Training, and Designer Workshop.
How would a prospective customer for Bamboo Services around Workflow Conductor inquire regarding further details?
Engaging us is as easy as contacting me directly, and you can reach me to discuss a Bamboo Services engagement by phone at 703-964-2009, or by sending an email.
Get the complete story behind the Bamboo Services offerings:
Posted
Jun 20 2011, 09:30 AM
by
DaisyAnand
My name is Daisy Anand and I am very excited to take on a new role at Bamboo - Director of Bamboo Services. I am looking forward to increasing our service offerings to match our customers expectations and requriements, and make both our engagements and the customer deployments a success.