AlphaFlow
[...Christian introduces himself...]

Why a new workflow engine?

Requirements select workflows for every single object, activity based. Parallel was also needed. It must be flexible and tightly integrated into the user interface it must be saleable and useable like visually handleable.

plone integration was a must

why not dc workflow?

it does not do what we need.

* parallel workflows are impossible

* permissions are hard to handle

why not openflow?

* No / Bad plone integration

* stale code basis

* different forks

* workflow definitions too generic

Making it new was cheaper than customising existing software.

Prototype took five man days

Distributed process control
specialized activities

monolithic process control you complete an activity and the monolithe woule decide on how to continue.

distributed process control
a simple task only has one outcome
what if tere are two outcomes?
you can crrate a workflow out of small building blocks

specialized activities
Voting
Routing in the workflow
time based triggers

ALF is a XML format to define processes
exception handling is managed
internal event system
dynamic local roles
external systems are easily integrated

current implementation

AlphaFlow 1.0 is the first stable version you can get it from ftp.gocept.com it is made for Plone 1.1, has a rich 55 pages manual and a demo application.

It integrates with plone 2.1

Ask another user to write a document for you.

[...an example is shown...]

AlphaFlow instalation

default content types are supported out of the box

[...logging out again...]

[...logging in as another user...] write acces to plone root

Create an empty page
save it

select a workflow from a list

-> Request content from the author

there is a graph of the workflow shown and they are created dynamically :-)

A task request is filled out and saved

teh state can be introspected now

there is also the task history shown.

[...Christian is loggin out and in again...]

The document is created and the user can say 'i am done' by selecting a (dropdown) menu entry.

[...Christian is loggin out and in again...]

In the dropdown there can be many options for pushing objects to another state.

The workflow continues to run and you can have multiple workflows on the same object.

[...Christian goes to the ZMI...]

You can import xml there.

You see all the work items there. The workitems contain and carry all the information of the workflow. Managers can restart the workitem. There is a Fall out state if any exception is happening. The Manager can then restart and fix the workflow.

Q: Export workflow?
A: Not possible at the moment.

[...Christian brings up a brand new firefox to show the visual editor...]

It uses integrates SVG

You can modify the graph by selectng workitems and you can change and add update. It shows you what happens if you change things. The Visual Editor will be stable soon.

Another example: request to buy something for your office

Add new Procurement request

Price, Reason and other data is put in, save, done with entering it, continue...

Curent activities shows the work items.

[...logginout...]

Accept or reject

Accept -> done

other wait for a SECOND decistion :-)

[...logginout...]

accept again

Workflowable Classes are derived from AlphaFlowed.
Workflows are in xml files. [...a xml file is shown...]
...accept activity... reject activity...
dcworkflow is emulated, too

Roadmap

Bugfixing
UI refinements
Sub Processes will be supported in a future version
Documentation about extending
Zope 3 ??

Q: Activity formalism has it been made up on your own or is it an existing definition? Are there sufficient xml definitions already?
A: We lloked at openflow and dcworkflow

Q: Why didn't wfmc work?
A: We offer some of the interfaces

Q: Workflowable members?
A: Yes. You can apply it to such objects. That's Archetypes.

Q: Workflow without content?
A: Not now.

Q: AGXML integration
A: Philipp Auersperg explains that he will integrate it probably.

Q: task to a group or only by user.
A: Yes, generally.

Q: Custom user interface for workflows.
A: You can do that now.

Q: Adding comment
A: Extend

Q: Where do workflow items live?
A: Seperate place, in a btree folder.