This whitepaper gives an

overview of how Microsoft

Visio Premium 2010 and
Microsoft SharePoint Designer
2010 together enable easier
workflow authoring and
tracking. It also includes
detailed tips for working
successfully between Visio and
SharePoint Designer.

SharePoint
Workflow
Authoring in Visio
Premium 2010

1
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Table of Contents
Topics covered in this whitepaper include:
 SharePoint workflow authoring experience in Visio Premium 2010
 Visualization of SharePoint Designer 2010 workflows
 Workflow visualization in SharePoint with Visio Services

Contents
Cover Sheet....................................................................................................................................................................... 2
Introduction................................................................................................................................................................... 2
Table of Contents..............................................................................................................................................................1
SharePoint Workflow Authoring in Visio Premium 2010.................................................................................................2
Workflow Validation.....................................................................................................................................................5
Exporting Workflow to SharePoint Designer 2010.....................................................................................................11
Visualization of SharePoint Designer 2010 Workflows..................................................................................................12
Export a workflow from SharePoint Designer 2010 into Visio Premium 2010...........................................................12
Collaborating on Workflow Design through Round-tripping......................................................................................14
Workflow Visualization in SharePoint with Visio Services........................................................................................14
Level of Workflow Support.........................................................................................................................................16

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SharePoint Workflow Authoring in Visio Premium 2010

Introduction
Microsoft® Visio® has long been the tool of choice for documenting processes. Ever since the introduction of workflow
support in Microsoft® Office SharePoint Server® 2007, we have been hearing from customers, “wouldn’t it be great to
visualize SharePoint workflows in Visio like flowcharts? Wouldn’t it also be great to go from Visio business process
diagrams to executable workflows on SharePoint?”

Since then, the Visio team and the Microsoft® SharePoint Designer® team have partnered to enhance the workflow
authoring experience. In Visio Premium 2010, SharePoint workflows can be authored as a flowchart and exported to
SharePoint Designer 2010. For business analysts who are used to defining business processes in Visio, it means there is
now an easy way to translate business logic in Visio to workflow rules in SharePoint Designer.

Automate
Visio Premium SharePoint
business logic
2010 Designer 2010

Business
Business Analyst
Analyst Workflow IT
IT Professional
Professional
Visio Drawing Workflow

Workflows authored in SharePoint Designer 2010 can also be imported into Visio Premium 2010. For IT professionals
who have been implementing SharePoint workflows in SharePoint Designer, it means there is now an alternative way to
present these workflows in a visual representation for documentation and for sharing with a broader audience.

Visio 2010
Premium

SharePoint Visualize Visio Drawing Business

Business Analyst
Analyst
Designer 2010 business logic

Workflow
Workflow
IT
IT Professional
Professional SharePoint
(Visio Services)

Visio Web
Drawing
Process
Process Stakeholders
Stakeholders

This whitepaper gives an overview of how Visio Premium 2010 and SharePoint Designer 2010 together enable easier
workflow authoring and tracking. It also includes detailed tips for working successfully between Visio and SharePoint
Designer.

SharePoint Workflow Authoring in Visio Premium 2010

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With Visio Premium 2010, we allow Business Analysts and Process Analysts who are already familiar with flowcharting
in Visio to continue to author their business logic in Visio, but we also allow them to go further by exporting that business
flow to SharePoint Designer 2010 such that the workflow can be automated in SharePoint.

In Visio Premium 2010, we are introducing a brand new drawing template for authoring SharePoint workflows. When you
launch Visio, you can click on New under the File tab, click on the Flowchart Template Category, then click on Microsoft
SharePoint Workflow to start authoring a SharePoint workflow.

Note that SharePoint Workflows should only be created from the SharePoint Workflow template, not other Flowchart
templates. Visio does not recognize basic flowcharts or any other non-SharePoint Workflow shapes as SharePoint
workflows.

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Upon opening the drawing, three stencils are available: SharePoint Workflow Actions, SharePoint Workflow Conditions,
and SharePoint Workflow Terminators.

All shapes in the SharePoint Workflow stencils directly correlate to workflow activities provided out-of-box in
SharePoint. A workflow action is a “task” or a “step” in the workflow. “Send an Email” is an example of a SharePoint
workflow action. A workflow condition is similar to a decision shape in a flowchart, where a flowchart path is dependent
on some parameter or logic. An example of a SharePoint workflow condition is “Created By”, where the next workflow
activities to execute depends on who created the item in the workflow. Finally, a workflow terminator is used to signify
the start or the end of a workflow.

To start authoring a SharePoint workflow, you can drop shapes to the drawing canvas, just like creating any flowchart in
Visio. All workflows should start with the Start shape, and end with the Terminate shape. For connectors following a
condition shape, you can right-click on the connector, and click on “Yes”, “No”, or “(Blank)” to add a label to the
connector.

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You can also modify the original shape text and replace it with text more relevant to your business process. This shape
text is shown in SharePoint Designer after the workflow is exported from Visio. This can help the SharePoint Designer
user better understand the purpose of the workflow activity.

Workflow Validation
To successfully export a workflow to SharePoint Designer 2010, the workflow must first be valid. To validate a
workflow, users can click on the Process tab, and click on the Check Diagram button.

In the event that your workflow has issues, an Issues window will pop up, and the shape having the issue will be
highlighted.

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While some issues are more common than others, here is a complete table of possible issues as you validate your diagram.
This table also includes sample diagrams for each issue, and suggestions on how to fix the diagram. All workflows to be
exported to SharePoint Designer must be sequential workflows. State machine workflows and workflows with loops are
not supported by SharePoint Designer, and Visio will raise validation issues for such workflows. In addition, Visio does
not support the exporting of workflows to Microsoft® Visual Studio®.

Rule Description Sample Diagram with Issue Suggestions

A Custom action To signify an activity that does not yet
cannot be added to a exist, the “Add a Comment” action
workflow diagram. should be used. Users should not
The Custom action can create a new Custom action from an
only be generated existing one through copy and paste.
when importing
workflow from
SharePoint Designer.

A Custom condition To signify an activity that does not yet

cannot be added to a exist, the “Add a Comment” action
workflow diagram. should be used. Users should not
The custom condition create a new Custom condition from an
can only be generated existing one through copy and paste.
when importing
workflow from
SharePoint Designer.
A Compound To signify a condition that does not yet
condition cannot be exist, the “Add a Comment” action
manually added to a should be used. Users should not
workflow diagram. create a new Compound condition
The compound from an existing one through copy and
condition can only be paste.
generated when
importing workflow
from SharePoint
Designer.
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Duplicate connections Remove excess connector by selecting

exist between connector and delete.
Yes
workflow shapes.
Created by a Specified Person Update List Item

No

Assign Item for Approval

Loop back to parent Neither Visio nor SharePoint Designer

shape is not allowed. support workflows with loops. Check
Yes
Created by a Specified Person Update List Item
for loops and delete the looping
connections.
No

Assign Item for Approval

Parallel activities that Avoid parallel activities that are also

are also sequential are sequential by adjusting the flow logic
not allowed. such that the activities are only parallel
or only sequential.

Avoid connectors pointing to the same

No

Created by a specified
person
Yes Compare document field Yes Send an email Collect data from a user
activity from multiple paths by
duplicating the activity:
Created by a specified
Compare document field Send an email Collect data from a user
person
No Add time to date

Add time to date Collect data from a user

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If dealing with parallel blocks that

are one after another (usually
workflows constructed from
SharePoint Designer), use the “Add a
Comment” shape between the two
parallel blocks such that the blocks are
separated cleanly:
Send an email Create list item

Add a comment

Assign a to-do item Do calculation

The condition shape Right-click on the connector to assign

does not have Created by a specified
Yes Start feedback process
label “Yes” or “No”.
connections labeled person

with Yes or No.

Add time to date

The condition shape Ensure condition shape has an

must have at least one Created by a specified outgoing connector connected to
person
outgoing connection another workflow shape.
with label Yes or No.

Add time to date

The connector is not a Avoid reusing connectors from other

SharePoint Workflow Created by a Specified Person Update List Item
diagrams as they are not necessarily
connector. Ensure the designed to be used with SharePoint
correct connector is Workflows. Delete the selected
used by using the No connector and replace with a new
connector tool or connector inserted through the
AutoConnect. Assign Item for Approval
connector tool or AutoConnect.

The connector must be Created by a Specified Person Yes Update List Item
Ensure dangling connector is removed
connected to two or is connected to a valid workflow
workflow shapes. shape.
No

Assign Item for Approval

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The diagram must Ensure all paths originate from the

only have one Created by a Specified Person Update List Item
same Start shape by removing the
workflow and one second Start shape and connect the
Start shape. following activities to the first and
only Start shape.

Send an Approval

Log to History List

The shape is not a Ensure that only workflow shapes

SharePoint workflow Created by a Specified Person Yes Update List Item
from the SharePoint Workflow stencils
shape. Only are used. Non-workflow shapes are not
SharePoint workflow recognized and would prevent the
shapes can be No workflow from being exported to
connected in a SharePoint Designer.
workflow. Assign Item for Approval

The Start shape must Remove the incoming connector

not have incoming connected to the Start shape.
Created by a Specified Person Yes Update List Item
connections.

No

Assign Item for Approval

The Terminate shape Remove the outgoing connector

must not have connected to the Terminate shape.
Yes
outgoing connections.
Created by a Specified Person Update List Item

No

Assign Item for Approval

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The workflow must Ensure the workflow in the page starts

have a Start shape. with a Start shape.
Created by a Specified Person Yes Update List Item

No

Assign Item for Approval

The workflow shape is Ensure the workflow shape is

not connected to a Created by a Specified Person Yes Update List Item
connected to another workflow shape
Terminate shape. or a Terminate shape.

No

Assign Item for Approval

The workflow shape is Ensure the workflow shape is either

not connected to the Created by a Specified Person Yes Update List Item Create List Item
removed or have it connected to
workflow. another workflow shape on the page.
No

Assign Item for Approval

Workflow nesting n/a Visio can only handle up to 10 levels

levels must not exceed of nesting of workflow activities.
a maximum of 10. Reduce the complexity of the
workflow by splitting up the workflow
into two or by eliminating activities.
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Exporting Workflow to SharePoint Designer 2010

When you are done authoring your workflow in Visio, you can export the workflow to a file that can be consumed by
SharePoint Designer 2010. By exporting the workflow to SharePoint Designer 2010, SharePoint site owners and IT
Professionals can parameterize the workflows by binding workflow activity fields with SharePoint lookups and then
publishing them as an executable workflow.

To export, simply go to the Process tab and click Export:

Visio will automatically validate the workflow first to make sure the workflow can be exported and consumed by
SharePoint Designer. If there are issues related to the workflow, you will need to fix them (e.g. add connector, add
Terminate shape), before you try exporting again. An issue-free workflow can be exported as a Visio Workflow
Interchange (*.vwi) file.

The Visio Workflow Interchange file can in turn be imported into SharePoint Designer 2010. In SharePoint Designer
2010, users can first select Workflows in the Site Objects panel, then click the Import from Visio button in the Workflows
tab to import the workflow into SharePoint Designer 2010.

The imported workflow is surfaced in SharePoint Designer as text, and all custom shape text in the Visio diagram are
imported into SharePoint Designer as activity labels (the gray text in the image below) to help clarify business intent:
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Visualization of SharePoint Designer 2010 Workflows

While some workflows may be authored in Visio first, SharePoint site owners or IT Professionals may choose to start
directly in SharePoint Designer 2010 and publish executable workflows from there. Visualizing such a workflow from
SharePoint Designer can help with the documentation and communication of workflows to a broader audience. There are
two ways the SharePoint Designer user can create such Visio visualizations:

1. Export a workflow from SharePoint Designer 2010 for use in Visio Premium 2010
2. Publish workflow and visualization together from SharePoint Designer 2010

We will discuss both approaches in this section.

Export a workflow from SharePoint Designer 2010 into Visio Premium 2010
To visualize a workflow from SharePoint Designer 2010, the user can click the Export to Visio command on the
Workflow tab and a Workflow Visio Interchange (*.vwi) file will be created:
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To import the file into Visio, create a new drawing using the Microsoft SharePoint Workflow template and click on the
Import command in the Process tab:

From there, the workflow is visualized in Visio, and the user is free to edit and enhance the diagram just the same way as
any flowchart using features such as Themes or Auto Align & Space:
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Collaborating on Workflow Design through Round-tripping

One additional advantage of being able to import and export a workflow between Visio 2010 and SharePoint Designer
2010 is that Business Analysts and IT Professionals can iterate together on the workflow design before implementing the
workflow. Business Analysts can create and modify a workflow in Visio, and then pass it to IT Professionals who can
determine more detailed workflow requirements in SharePoint Designer 2010. IT Professionals may in turn pass the
workflow back to Business Analysts for final review before proceeding with implementation. For such design iterations,
we recommend that users start from Visio to first define business requirements, and use round-tripping as a way to agree
on the workflow sequence and SharePoint activities with IT Professionals. We do not recommend round-tripping when
the workflows have already been parameterized and implemented in SharePoint Designer 2010. SharePoint Designer 2010
supports the notion of “steps” which Visio does not recognize during round-tripping. Users should therefore avoid using
“steps” in workflows that are to be round-tripped between Visio and SharePoint Designer.

Workflow Visualization in SharePoint with Visio Services

We have discussed how workflows from SharePoint Designer 2010 can be visualized by exporting it to Visio Premium
2010. Now let’s talk about how you can visualize the workflow and see status of an executing workflow on SharePoint.
SharePoint Designer 2010 supports publishing executable workflow as well as the visualization associated with the
workflow to SharePoint. To do so, go to the Workflow Summary page, and check the “Show workflow visualization on
status page” box (note that the checkbox is only available if the SharePoint server has Visio Services enabled and if Visio
Premium 2010 is installed in the same machine as SharePoint Designer 2010):
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As a result, the workflow is not only being executed, but users can easily track progress of the workflow through
visualization! For example, in the diagram below, there are icons indicating tasks “in progress” or “completed”. People
assigned to the tasks are also displayed clearly within the Task shapes:
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This is made possible by Visio Services, which enables viewing of Visio Web Drawings on SharePoint without requiring
the Visio client to be installed for viewing.

Level of Workflow Support

Visio only supports workflows intended to be published through SharePoint Designer. Workflows from Visual Studio, or
custom activities authored by third party developers are not recognized by Visio. For all non-SharePoint activities that are
unknown to Visio, Visio will visualize them as a “Custom action” or “Custom condition”, as shown below:

Conclusion

As businesses increasingly look to capture and optimize business processes to ensure compliance and efficiency, there is a
great opportunity to automate these business processes as workflows on SharePoint. With Visio Premium 2010 and
SharePoint Designer 2010, moving business processes to execution on SharePoint and tracking such workflows visually is
easier than ever.