Installation Guide

Automating the Request for Change Process Using SharePoint Workflow
Installation Guide
Author Unit Unit Description Date Version
David Spriggs ITN248 QUT Minor Project (IS) 01 November 2007 1.0
Automating the Request for Change Process using SharePoint Workflow Installation Guide
Table of Contents
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Introduction................................................................................................. 4 Copying the Solution Files to the Solution Store .............................................. 5 Deploying the Solutions ................................................................................ 5 Creating a Project Team Site ....................................................................... 11 Usage Scenario .......................................................................................... 14 References ................................................................................................ 23
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Automating the Request for Change Process using SharePoint Workflow Installation Guide
Table of Figures
Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure 1 - Request for Change process overview ................................................... 4 2 - Central Administration (Operations)....................................................... 5 3 - Solution Management .......................................................................... 5 4 - Rfcstatemachine.wsp solution properties ............................................... 6 5 - Deploying rfcstatemachine.wsp ............................................................. 6 6 - Projectteamdatapartsolution.wsp .......................................................... 7 7 Deploying projectteamdatapartsolution.wsp ............................................. 7 8 - Projectteamprocesslists.wsp solution properties ..................................... 8 9 - Deploying projectteamprocesslists.wsp .................................................. 8 10 - Projectteamsolution solution properties................................................ 9 11 - Deploying projectteamsolution ............................................................ 9 12 - Deployed solutions ............................................................................. 9 13 -RFC State Machine feature................................................................. 10 14 - RFC State Machine feature activated ................................................. 10 15 - Create SharePoint site ...................................................................... 11 16 - Project Team Site home page ........................................................... 11 17 - Request for Change list .................................................................... 12 18 - Request for Change list settings ........................................................ 12 19 - Add a workflow................................................................................ 12 20 - Workflow association completed........................................................ 13 21 - Project Portal showing each project web site ...................................... 14 22 - New project team site ...................................................................... 15 23 - Project issue list item ....................................................................... 15 24 - New RFC item.................................................................................. 16 25 - Select workflow for RFC item ............................................................ 16 26 - Start a new workflow ....................................................................... 17 27 - Workflow initiation form ................................................................... 17 28 - RFC Monitor web part ...................................................................... 17 29 - New task for Change Analyst ............................................................ 18 30 - Analysing RFC task........................................................................... 18 31 - View RFC list item ............................................................................ 18 32 - Edit RFC list item ............................................................................. 19 33 - Browse to file to attach .................................................................... 19 34 - Report attached to RFC list item ........................................................ 19 35 - Completing the Analysing RFC task.................................................... 20 36 - Checking In Tolerance task ............................................................... 20 37 - Viewing report attachment................................................................ 21 38 - Reviewing exception plan task .......................................................... 21 39 - Completing RFC task ........................................................................ 22
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Automating the Change Request Process Using SharePoint Workflow Installation Guide
1. Introduction
The Project Team Site and components were developed as part of my Masters of IT course at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) in Brisbane, Australia. It is the conclusion of a project to evaluate project management processes from major project management methodologies for automation, aiming to reduce the time an effort required to execute and manage these processes thereby reducing project costs. The process selected and modelled for automation is the Request for Change process shown in Figure 1 from the PRINCE2 project management methodology.
Figure 1 - Request for Change process overview
The solution files and Visual Studio 2005 source code have been uploaded to the Microsoft Open Source Project Hosting web site (http://www.codeplex.com/rfcworkflow) so that others may use the research for their own SharePoint projects. The code is provided as-is and is not warranted fit for any particular purpose with not support provided. However should you have any questions please do not hesitate to post a note on the CodePlex web site and time permitting I will try to post a reply. Some acknowledgements for resources used during this project. The Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 SDK1 and the Enterprise Content Management Starter Kit were very useful in demonstrating techniques to develop the state machine workflow. I have also found the Visual Studio 2005 template2 by Rich Finn an excellent resource to understand how to build solution packages. The following technical reference books were also used during the development of this project: Beginning Visual C# 2005, Karli Watson [et al] Wiley Publishing 2006. Professional SharePoint 2007 Development, John Holliday [et al] Wiley Publishing 2007. Microsoft SharePoint Building Office 2007 Solutions in C# 2005, Scot Hillier Apress 2007. Workflow in the 2007 Microsoft Office System, David Mann Apress 2007.
This installation guide describes the steps to copy and deploy the solution files for the Project Team Site, to create the site and then use the Request for Change workflow. The RFC State Machine workflow uses custom forms developed using Microsoft InfoPath 2007, an edition of the Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 must be installed to render and display the forms as web pages. A Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 only installation will NOT support the Project Team Site as the Forms Server is only included with the Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007.
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2. Copying the Solution Files to the Solution Store

After downloading the ProjectTeamSiteSolutionFiles.zip file from the Microsoft Open Source Project Hosting web site (http://www.codeplex.com/rfcworkflow) use an administrator account to unzip the solution files to a directory on the server where Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 (MOSS) is installed. In this example I have used the directory c:\wsp. Change default directory to: C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\web server extensions\12\BIN Add the solution packages to SharePoint Solution Store using stsadm.exe stsadm -o addsolution -filename c:\wsp\rfcstatemachine.wsp stsadm -o addsolution -filename c:\wsp\projectteamsolution.wsp stsadm -o addsolution -filename c:\wsp\projectteamprocesslists.wsp stsadm -o addsolution -filename c:\wsp\projectteamdatapartsolution.wsp
3. Deploying the Solutions

Launch the SharePoint Central Administration from; Start -> All Programs -> Administrative Tools -> SharePoint 3.0 Central Administration and click on the Operations tab. The Operations page is displayed as shown in Figure 2.
Figure 2 - Central Administration (Operations)
Click on the Solution management link under the Global Configuration section and the Solution Management page is displayed as shown in Figure 3. The solutions that you copied to the SharePoint Solution Store should be listed.
Figure 3 - Solution Management
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The solutions need to be deployed so a Project Team Site can be created. Click on the name of each solution to start the deployment. The solution properties are displayed as in Figure 4. Click on the Deploy Solution button.
Figure 4 - Rfcstatemachine.wsp solution properties
Accept the default options and proceed with the deployment.
Figure 5 - Deploying rfcstatemachine.wsp
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Figure 6 - Projectteamdatapartsolution.wsp
Select the web application which supports the site collection where you want to create the Project Team Site which in Figure 7 is http://vstesting.
Figure 7 Deploying projectteamdatapartsolution.wsp
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Figure 8 - Projectteamprocesslists.wsp solution properties
Figure 9 - Deploying projectteamprocesslists.wsp
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Figure 10 - Projectteamsolution solution properties
Figure 11 - Deploying projectteamsolution
Once all the solutions have been deployed the status of the solutions on the Solution Management page should be listed as shown in Figure 12.
Figure 12 - Deployed solutions
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Prior to creating a Project Team Site the RFCStateMachine feature must be activated. Access the Site Collection Features management section by using the Site Settings menu on the top level site of the site collection, scroll down until you reach the RFC State Machine feature shown in Figure 13.
Figure 13 -RFC State Machine feature
Click on the Activate button, the feature will be activated for use by the sites in the site collection as shown in Figure 14.
Figure 14 - RFC State Machine feature activated
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4. Creating a Project Team Site

After the solutions have been deployed a Project Team Site can be created. In our usage scenario a project portal has been created using the MOSS Collaboration Portal template. Using an administrator account from the top level site select the Site Settings - > Create Site menu option and the New SharePoint Site page will be displayed as shown in Figure 15.
Figure 15 - Create SharePoint site
Click on the Project Sites tab and select the Project Team Site template, enter a title and a URL for the site and click Create. The site should be created successfully, click on the link to the newly created site and the site home page will be displayed similar to that shown in Figure 16.
Figure 16 - Project Team Site home page 01 November 2007 11 of 23 Version 1.0
Prior to using the site for the first time the RFCStateMachine workflow must be associated with the Request for Change list. Open the list by clicking on the link on the QuickLaunch menu, the list is displayed as shown in Figure 17.
Figure 17 - Request for Change list
From the list settings menu, Figure 18, click on the workflow settings link.
Figure 18 - Request for Change list settings
Scroll down the workflow template list and select the RFC State Machine workflow. Enter a unique name for the workflow, for example RFC leave the remainder of the settings as default.
Note: Do NOT set the workflow to start when a new item is created, the participants must be selected prior to starting the workflow.
Click Next to complete.
Figure 19 - Add a workflow 01 November 2007 12 of 23 Version 1.0
The workflow settings page will be displayed with the workflow available for use with items in the Request for Change list.
Figure 20 - Workflow association completed
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5. Usage Scenario
In order to understand how the site definition, RFC workflow, RFC list and the RFC monitor web part are deployed and used consider the following scenario. A mid-size company undertakes many projects on behalf of their clients and in order to provide better access to the project information they create a project portal using MOSS. When a new project is commissioned a project web site is created in the portal. The diagram in Figure 21 illustrates the Project Portal.
Figure 21 - Project Portal showing each project web site
Each project web site created is based on a site definition. A new project web site is created called Media PC Project. It is based on the custom site definition Project Team Site. In the site definition a number of features are configured to be activated when the site is created or provisioned. These include the standard SharePoint features; TeamCollab and MobilityRedirect. TeamCollab provides team collaboration functionality such as project issue tracking and announcements. MobilityRedirect enables the site to be viewed with a mobile browser. Also included are the custom features produced by this project; ProjectTeamProcessLists, RFCListFeature and ProjectTeamDataPart. At the site collection level is the custom feature RFCStateMachine which provides the RFC workflow functionality to all web sites in the site collection.
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A screen shot of the Media PC Project web site home page is shown in Figure 22.
Figure 22 - New project team site
During the project an issue is raised by one of the stakeholders, the project manager reviews the issue shown in Figure 23 and determines that the issue raised involves a change to one of the project deliverables.
Figure 23 - Project issue list item
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The project manager then opens the Request for Change list and creates a new list item as shown in Figure 24.
Figure 24 - New RFC item
The new RFC list item contains all the information required by the PRINCE2 project management process. The Title, Description and IssueID are required fields to be completed by the project manager who raises the RFC as a result of a project issue. The IssueID field performs a lookup of the Project Issues list enabling the related issue to be selected. The Priority is selected by the Change Analyst during the RFC Analysis state with the Completed and ProcessLog fields updated by the RFC workflow at the end of the workflow during the Completing RFC state. After the RFC item is created the project manager selects the RFC item workflows property and then starts the RFC workflow.
Figure 25 - Select workflow for RFC item
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Figure 26 - Start a new workflow
The project manager is presented with the workflow initiation form to select the workflow participants and enter other required information.
Figure 27 - Workflow initiation form
After the form is submitted the workflow starts and the first task is assigned. The progress of the RFC is displayed in the RFC Monitor web part on the Media PC Project home page.
Figure 28 - RFC Monitor web part 01 November 2007 17 of 23 Version 1.0
The change analyst opens the Media PC Project website and clicks on the tasks link to check on the status of his tasks. A new Analysing RFC task has been created by the RFC workflow as shown in Figure 29.
Figure 29 - New task for Change Analyst
Clicking on the link in the task list displays the custom task form TaskFormGeneral.
Figure 30 - Analysing RFC task
The change analyst opens the RFC list item by clicking on the Change PC Case Colour link.
Figure 31 - View RFC list item
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After analysing the change requested the change analyst drafts a report to attach to the RFC list item. He edits the RFC by clicking on the Edit Item link.
Then by clicking on the Attach File link to attach the report he selects the file to attach.
Figure 32 - Edit RFC list item
After attaching the file the attached document is displayed at the foot of the RFC list item.
Figure 33 - Browse to file to attach
Figure 34 - Report attached to RFC list item
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After closing the RFC list item the change analyst adds a comment to the task form and completes the task by using the complete task button as shown in Figure 35.
Figure 35 - Completing the Analysing RFC task
The workflow proceeds by setting the status of the Analysing RFC task to completed and creating another task Checking In Tolerance for the project manager to review the analysts report to see if the change can be delivered within the current project budget and schedule. The comments from the change analyst are appended to the instructions to be performed for the Checking in Tolerance task by the project manager as shown in Figure 36.
Figure 36 - Checking In Tolerance task
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The project manager follows the instructions to review the analysts report. The attachment containing the report is shown at the bottom of the RFC list item in Figure 37.
Figure 37 - Viewing report attachment
The workflow proceeds as shown in the overview in Figure 1. When the process reaches the ReviewingExceptionPlan phase a new task is created for the project board member who after reviewing the exception plan has four possible options to choose from: 1. Approve the change 2. Cancel the change 3. Defer the change to another time 4. Or request more information from the project manager regarding the exception plan The first three options advance the process to the CompletingRFC phase of the process whereas the fourth option moves the process back to the CreatingExceptionPlan phase to get further information.
Figure 38 - Reviewing exception plan task
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In this case the project board member chooses to approve the exception plan to implement the requested change. This causes the Reviewing Exception Plan task to be completed and the workflow creates a new task, as shown in Figure 39, assigned to the project manager advising him that the RFC has been approved.
Figure 39 - Completing RFC task
Ultimately the project manager adds a comment to the originator of the issue and clicks on the Complete Task button which will then: 1. Update the RFC list item with the decision and write the complete log of task instructions and comments to the process log field of the item. 2. Update the related project issue with the RFC decision, add the project managers comment and then close the issue. 3. Complete the workflow. In this version of the workflow the step in the second point is a manual step to be performed by the project manager.
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6. References
1
Website,http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=6d94e307-67d9-41acb2d6-0074d6286fa9&displaylang=en, accessed 4/11/2007. 2 Website, http://blog.richfinn.net/2007/09/19/VisualStudio2005TemplateWithInstallerForBuildingMOSSS olutionPackages.aspx, accessed October 2007.
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Automating the Request for Change Process Using SharePoint Workflow

Author Unit Unit Description Date Version

Figure 1 - Request for Change process overview

2. Copying the Solution Files to the Solution Store

3. Deploying the Solutions

Figure 2 - Central Administration (Operations)

Figure 3 - Solution Management

Figure 4 - Rfcstatemachine.wsp solution properties

Accept the default options and proceed with the deployment.

Figure 5 - Deploying rfcstatemachine.wsp

Figure 7 Deploying projectteamdatapartsolution.wsp

Figure 8 - Projectteamprocesslists.wsp solution properties

Figure 9 - Deploying projectteamprocesslists.wsp

Figure 10 - Projectteamsolution solution properties

Figure 11 - Deploying projectteamsolution

Figure 12 - Deployed solutions

Figure 13 -RFC State Machine feature

Figure 14 - RFC State Machine feature activated

4. Creating a Project Team Site

Figure 15 - Create SharePoint site

Figure 17 - Request for Change list

Figure 18 - Request for Change list settings

Click Next to complete.

Figure 19 - Add a workflow 01 November 2007 12 of 23 Version 1.0

Figure 20 - Workflow association completed

Figure 21 - Project Portal showing each project web site

Figure 22 - New project team site

Figure 23 - Project issue list item

Figure 24 - New RFC item

Figure 25 - Select workflow for RFC item

Figure 26 - Start a new workflow

Figure 27 - Workflow initiation form

Figure 28 - RFC Monitor web part 01 November 2007 17 of 23 Version 1.0

Figure 29 - New task for Change Analyst

Figure 30 - Analysing RFC task

Figure 31 - View RFC list item

Figure 32 - Edit RFC list item

Figure 33 - Browse to file to attach

Figure 34 - Report attached to RFC list item

Figure 35 - Completing the Analysing RFC task

Figure 36 - Checking In Tolerance task

Figure 37 - Viewing report attachment

Figure 38 - Reviewing exception plan task

Figure 39 - Completing RFC task

Website,http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=6d94e307-67d9-41acb2d6-0074d6286fa9&displaylang=en, accessed 4/11/2007. 2 Website, http://blog.richfinn.net/2007/09/19/VisualStudio2005TemplateWithInstallerForBuildingMOSSS olutionPackages.aspx, accessed October 2007.

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