Modeling Business Processes with AX 2012 and Workflow - Part III - Enabling Custom Workflows

With the release of Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012, one of the more interesting improvements has been around Workflows, and their desired use for modeling business processes within AX 2012. This is why I started a series of post, that will cover workflows in AX 2012, and how the vision is truly to enable a model more and code less, for modeling business processes. I started off this series, with Modeling Business Processes with AX 2012 and Workflow. In that we reviewed the vision, in how workflows were going to remove the gap that exists between development and business process modeling.

From there, we took the workflow topic, and talked in the post about, Modeling Business Processes with AX 2012 and Workflow - Part II - What's new. In that post, we covered the what's new for AX 2012 workflows vs. AX 2009. We also covered that workflows can not be upgraded from AX 2009 to AX 2012 workflows. This is a truly different engine and, so it's really impossible to create a script that would enabling the upgrading of AX 2009 workflows to AX 2012. You would want to take advantage of the what's new in workflows for AX 2012 anyway, and so the value of offering an upgrade on that thought alone, makes such an upgrade have an even smaller chance of adding value.

Well we continue our dive into workflows, for AX 2012, with this post focusing on Enabling Custom Workflows in AX 2012. Like a lot of topics, with AX 2012, there are some really wonderful, existing resources out there, from Microsoft and from other places, that I will link to from this post, that help send what's required for custom workflows to exist. These resources, will enable use to create custom workflows and to enable workflows for modules, and forms that don't already have workflows enabled for use.

From there, I will circle back around about the vision, and desire for workflows to be used over development. So lets get started, by reviewing some existing resources online. First lets make a stop at Implementing workflow for Microsoft Dynamics AX [AX 2012]. This is a very important resource, and the very first book marked one that you add right now. This is a great resource, that will take you through the Creating workflow Types, Handling Workflow Events, Workflow Security and so on.

On this MSDN Resource page, you will also find some very useful and helpful walkthroughs.:

• Walkthrough: Creating a Workflow Type
• Walkthrough: Creating a Workflow with a Task and an Approval
• Walkthrough: Adding Workflow to an Existing Form

With these resources, you can easily start to take advantage of workflow development, and enabling workflows on existing items, as well as totally custom modules in AX 2012.

Some of the main take away's from this, is that now more than ever, it's easy to enable workflows, and so all business process design, should be considered with this fact in mind. Workflows in AX 2012 are flexible, not rigid. They are easy to design, and maintain, and decrease the technical scope it takes to meet a specific companies requirements. Think of workflows first in your designs, before you would think of specific development modifications only. That still might be needed, but it's a lot better move to have a workflow when possible than total custom code.

Well I hope this has you thinking of workflows, and it's impact and importance on design for AX 2012 projects. This is a great leap forward, and part of that bigger Modeling the world picture. That's all for now, but check back soon as a whole lot more to come! Till next time!

Also Don't forget this! Make sure to visit the following: Have Questions about Upgrading to Dynamics AX 2012? Get Your Answers Here! Make sure and submit those questions. Any and all levels, from planning, to PM, to Functional, Technical. The idea is to foster total community knowledge about this important topic.

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Modeling Business Processes with AX 2012 and Workflow

With the release of Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012, a powerful new way of approaching business process design is given to us. I spoke about this back in an earlier post this year, on Modeling the world, with Dynamics AX. I also continued to talk to this point, with my last interview with Microsoft's own Lachlan Cash.

In that interview, I asked Lachlan about the vision Microsoft has for modeling business processes within Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012, through the use of the Workflow designer. I don't want to re-hash the entire answer, you can go back and read that post from the link above. I do however want to preface this series of post I'm starting, with the following quote from that interview.

"The goal with such items, as the workflow engine is to address the need to bridge the gap between development vs. business process modeling. To take and drive true BP workflows, down to the end user level."

Well here we are, now with AX 2012 alive, kicking and screaming. Well, not sure about the screaming part, but you get the idea. So it's time to start taking the tools, and taking the vision, and by example see this in action, and the value it brings now, and for the future.

To that end, and as I have already mentioned, this is the start of my series on Modeling Business Processes with AX 2012 and Workflow.



For this first post, I want to spend time talking about the value this vision is meant to bring. Talk to the reality of what we currently have, and the ability for partners and customers to adopt this type of approach as part of the overall implementation project, for meeting business requirements.

First the value of such a vision. I've had long talks about this with plenty of people inside and outside of Microsoft. If you read through some of my earlier post, I mention terms like domains specific languages, and the ability to model more and code less. Such terms help describe the vision, and the perceived value supporting the vision is around being more agile, and flexible in the business processes that a company governs and uses.

There have been plenty attempts in the past to do code generation, and this is not the same vision, as what we are talking about doing with workflow to model business processes with. No, instead we are talking about enabling the ability to create workflow elements, that connect into custom components, to enable a business process to exists. The idea, is that this workflow framework, and the elements that make it up, could be used, to create and model business processes, that, in the past would be done through mostly custom code, and parameter based configurations.

So, that is the targeted value, for taking this vision and making it a reality in your AX 2012 projects. The next area we need to look at, is the reality of the current offerings, within AX 2012.



Here we will see, that Microsoft does provide some out-of-the-box offerings, that follow this vision, to enable business process modeling. For example, if you go to Organization Administration, Setup, Workflow, Organization Workflows then you will see, on creating a new workflow whats comes with AX 2012. These are: Case Management workflow, Document Handling & Signing limits workflow. These are workflow templates, that are made up of the elements you see in the image just above this paragraph.

So the reality is, there are some out-of-the-box offerings, in which we can start to use for taking and making the vision a reality. We must also taper this vision, to reality, with the fact that value should drive what we do. I know I sound like a broken record at times, when it comes to business value, but I don't think it can be said enough.

Also, while speaking to the point of reality, AX 2012 is actually the first major stepping stone, in this grand vision of modeling the world, from a business process modeling point of view. So to this point, this is why we see in the offerings from Microsoft that comes with AX 2012, are not very deep, and only enabled and used in certain parts of the application itself.

This brings me to my final point for this first post, which is the ability for the partner and customer to adopt this vision, and thought process, for achieving business requirements, via business process modeling through workflows.

Because there are so many options, and great new features within AX 2012, and we still have time lines and budgets to meet when it comes to AX 2012 implementations, the temptation will be to get this done, and not make use of workflows that much. When weighted against value, which is what should drive the design, and a workflow could meet the business requirement needs, for the business process, that would actually reduce development effort, but require some custom workflow elements, then that approach should be considered.

This is where the rubber meets the road, and where AX 2012 projects, and those who are implementing it, need to really understand the ability of AX 2012. They need to know the vision for the workflows modeling business processes, and the reality of the value this might can bring.

The flip side of that, is not everything is meant to have a workflow govern it, and you can never get away from custom code. I hope, however, to take and through my series on Modeling Business Processes with AX 2012 and Workflow's, that you will see the power this brings, the flexibility, and good examples of using this on projects now, and in the future.

That's all for this part in the series, but check back soon as a whole lot more to come. Till next time!


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