TECHNOLOGY

Exploring SharePoint Workflow Examples

What are SharePoint workflows, and how you can utilize them to improve the efficiency of your work processes? Do you know what the right tools are to create SharePoint workflows? These are questions any organization or business using SharePoint should be asking themselves if they are not yet using SharePoint workflows.

SharePoint is one of the many solutions created by Microsoft that are crucial in enhancing the collaboration within an organization along with bringing many other benefits. You can use SharePoint to create workflows where several activities are brought together and compounded into steps. Each of these activities will form a functional part of a mapped work process.

In order to effectively utilize SharePoint workflows, you must first learn how to create them, how to use them, and how can they be integrated with other software solutions. In this post, we look at SharePoint workflow basics and how you can create SharePoint workflow examples. Let’s get started.

What is a workflow in SharePoint?

A workflow in SharePoint is a means of organizing business processes. It involves defining the steps a task or a process has to go through before it is completed or approved. One of the common SharePoint workflow examples you are probably aware of is a request for leave or vacation time. You must first table the application, send it to your superior for approval, and then the application is either approved or rejected.

To create a SharePoint workflow, you must first have a clear idea of the key components the entire workflow process will have. The specific extent of the steps required within the scope of the workflow will only be limited by your imagination. You can consider components such as permission requests or approvals, users, required documents, conditions, and so on when creating a workflow.

What tools can you use to create SharePoint workflows?

There are several tools included in SharePoint that you can use to create SharePoint workflows. Standard and Enterprise SharePoint versions come with basic workflow tools such as collecting feedback and approval workflow. You can open your SharePoint, navigate to lists and libraries and use these tools to create basic SharePoint workflows.

If you are looking to create custom and more complex workflows with several key components, you can use SharePoint designer. However, the resultant workflow you create using this tool will greatly depend on your skills and understanding of the business processes.

Common SharePoint workflow examples you can create

Probably by now all your questions of “What is s SharePoint workflow?” have been cleared up. Here are the top SharePoint workflow examples you can create in a business setup.

  1. Approval workflows: SharePoint approval workflows usually involve a document, item, or application going through specific users who have been granted the powers to approve or reject the document or application.
  2. Signature workflows: These workflows assist in gathering digital signatures from designated users to be appended to documents. These workflows can work on both Word and Excel documents.
  3. Publishing approval workflows: SharePoint publishing approval workflows are different from the basic approval workflows as these involve content that needs to be published. These workflows are applied to those web pages that have restricted permissions. This feature allows administrators of a web page to approve or deny an application to make changes to a page.
  4. Feedback workflows: These workflows enable users to collect feedback from a particular target audience,compile the data and share it with the person who initiated the workflow.