SharePoint 2010 : Testing the Three-State Workflow

There are several key concepts to understand in this process. One is that this workflow is created in a specific list, and won’t be available from other lists in the site or site collection. Another key concept is that tasks are generated in a separate Tasks list by the workflow—first when the workflow is started, and then when the first task is marked as complete, which then changes the value of a column in the list and creates a second task. Each of these actions makes entries into the History list, which is not visible to users or even site administrators directly, but then provides audit history of the workflow.

It is also important to realize that there are multiple points of interaction with the issue and the task items, and users can change more than just the minimal fields discussed in the example. So in other words, there is margin for error, and users need to be clear which fields they should and shouldn’t modify.

The prerequisites for this testing are as follows:

• The Three-State workflow is enabled for the site collection.

• Two accounts are available for testing, each with an active email account in Outlook, and preferably Outlook 2010. Although this workflow can be completed by using just one account, it is harder to interpret the activities taking place and less useful as a training exercise.

• The account that creates the workflow should be a site owner, whereas the other account can just be a site member.

Follow these steps to test the workflow:

1.	Create a new list using the Issue Tracking template and name it Issue Tracking.
2.	Click the List tab on the Ribbon from within the Issue Tracking list, and then click List Settings.
3.	Click the Issue Status link in the Columns section. Scroll down on the Change Column page to the choices and note that there are three choices for this column: Active, Resolved, and Closed.
4.	Click Cancel to return to the List Settings Page. Click Workflow Settings in the Permissions and Management section.
5.	The Add a Workflow page will open. Select Three-State from the list of workflows.
6.	Name the workflow Issues-ThreeState.
7.	Verify that the Task list is set to Tasks (New) and that the History list is set to Workflow History (New). These settings indicate that a new tasks list will be created to track tasks associated with this workflow and a new workflow history list created to track workflow auditing information.
8.	In the Start Options section, verify that the Allow This Workflow to Be Manually Started option is selected. Click Next.
9.	The Customize the Three-State Workflow page will open. Verify that the Choice field is set to Issue Status, and the Initial State is set to Active, the Middle State is set to Resolved, and the Final State is set to Closed, as shown in Figure 1. Figure 1. The Customize the Three-State Workflow page.
10.	Scroll down to the next section titled Specify What You Want to Happen When a Workflow Is Initiated. Leave these settings at their defaults, as also shown in Figure 28.3, but review the different components of this section. Note that the task that will be created can be customized, the individual the task is assigned to can be modified, as can the fields that are included on the email. Note that the task will be assigned to the individual in the Assigned To field.
11.	Scroll down to the next section titled Specify What You Want to Happen When a Workflow Changes to Its Middle State. After again, leave the settings at their defaults. Note that the Task Assigned to is set to the Created By column for this stage. Click OK to complete the workflow definition process and return to the Issue Tracking list.
12.	Verify that you are logged in to the SharePoint site as a user who will be considered to be the manager for this test (User1 in this example). This user will create the Issue, and then assign it to another user for completion.
13.	Click Add New Item, and create a new issue title Test Issue 1, assign it to a test user who will be charged with completing the task (User2 in this case). Leave the Issue Status to Active, Priority to (2) Normal, as shown in Figure 2. Enter a brief description for the issue, such as Test issue for workflow testing. Leave the other settings on the page at their defaults and click Save. Figure 2. Creating a new issue to test the Three-State workflow.
14.	Navigate to the tasks list that was defined in step 7 (in this case, Tasks) and note that no tasks have been created at this point. This is because the workflow has not been started.
15.	The manager (User1) next manually starts the workflow, which assigns it to the user in the Assigned To column (User2 in this example). To do this, access the drop-down list for the Issue (Test Issue 1 in this example) and click Workflows.
16.	The Workflow.aspx page opens. Click the Issues-ThreeState link in the Start a New Workflow section.
17.	The workflow starts and the user (User1) is returned to the Issue Tracking list, as shown in Figure 3. Note that a new column will be visible that is titled Issues-ThreeState and shows the In Progress status for the workflow. The user also receives an email with a subject that reads “Workflow initiated” with the ID number of the workflow include. This email also provides a link to the Issues list. This helps remind the manager that he did in fact start the workflow. Figure 3. Issue list after the Three-State workflow is started.
18.	Next, log off as the manager (User1) and log in as the assignee (User2) and open Outlook. This user should have received both a copy of the “Workflow initiated” email and shortly thereafter an email that informs them that they have been assigned a task, and are given other information about the task, as shown in Figure 4. A URL is given to the issue in the Issue Tracking list, as well as instructions on how to complete the task: Review the issue, perform specific activities required for this task, and then edit the task and mark it as completed. Figure 4. Email received by issue assignee once the Three-State workflow is started. Caution This is a key point in the workflow where users forget to edit the task! They click the link to the issue, update the issue, and then think they are done, but unless the task is updated the workflow won’t move on to the next step. So, the training process should emphasize the importance of updating the task as well as the issue.
19.	At this point in the process, the assignee (User2) now knows he has an issue to work on, and he clicks the URL to open the issue and get to work on it, and update the issue. After the issue has been resolved, he needs to then edit the task to indicate the issue has been resolved. To do this, while still logged in as the assignee (User2), click the Open This Task button on the Ribbon to edit the task that was created by the workflow. Note In this example, User2 is using Outlook 2007, so the button on the Ribbon is titled Edit this Task as opposed to Open this Task (as shown in Figure 4), as it is labeled in Outlook 2010.
20.	The task will open as shown in Figure 5. Change the Status to Completed, and enter 100 in the % Complete field. Then click Save. Figure 5. Editing the task assigned by the Three-State workflow.
21.	The assignee (User2) will then be returned to the Tasks list and will see that a new task has been created, which is assigned to the initiator (User1).
22.	Log back in as the manager/initiator (User1) and open Outlook. An email should have been received with a subject line “Review task X” (where X is the ID of the task created in the Issue Tracking list). Click the URL to review the issue, which the assignee (User2) claims to have completed. Note that the issue is now set to the status of Resolved, as shown in Figure 6. Figure 6. Reviewing the status of the issue in the Three-State workflow.
23.	Shortly after (up to five minutes), the manager receives another email with the subject line “Tasks – Review Task 2 has been assigned to you.” Open the email and click the link to the issue, which should have been updated by the assignee (User2). If this were a real-world situation, the manager would now review the issue, and any notes added by the assignee (User2), to make sure it was appropriately updated.
24.	After the manager is satisfied the issue has been taken care of, the task can be marked as complete. To do this, as the manager (User1), click the Open This Task button and close the task by setting the Task Status to Completed and the % Complete field to 100 and then clicking Save.
25.	The Tasks list will then be visible, as shown in Figure 7, and shows both the original task where User2 was assigned a task, and marked it as complete, and the second task where User1 was assigned a task and marked it as complete. Figure 7. Viewing the tasks created by the Three-State workflow.
26.	Still logged in as the manager (User1), navigate to the Issue Tracking list, and verify that the status of the issue is now set to Closed and the field under the column titled Issues-ThreeState shows the value of Completed.
27.	Click the work Completed in the Issues-ThreeState column to view more details about the workflow, as shown in Figure 8. This page shows information about the initiator (User1), start time, status, which tasks were created and their outcomes, and the workflow history, which shows details of the event types that make up the workflow. Figure 8. Viewing the workflow information for the Three-State workflow.