Learn Tridion 2011 WorkFlow Basics

Question

I need to learn everything about Tridion 2011 from the very beginning. where can I do that? Thank you.

Answer 1

SDL Tridion Workflow allows administrators (and those with Workflow Management Rights) to create Process Definitions. These Process Definitions define the steps that a piece of content (Component, Page, etc.) will need to go through before a specific action can happen.

The 'typical' use case for Workflow is to ensure that a piece of content is reviewed by peers (normally superiors) before being being published to the live website.

There are normally three elements to workflow that you will need to consider:

1. The functional work to determine the requirements, offline process, user groups, etc.
2. The technical work to implement this within the CMS
3. Training & supporting the editorial team to understand and use Workflow

1. Functional

This part should be performed by a Functional Consultant to ensure that full requirements and constraints are captured. Mistakes here can cause hours of frustration for content editors in the end.

You will need to consider things such as:

• Which types of content need to undergo Workflow
• Is this on specific sites / Publications
• Which user groups are involved in the editing and approval of this content
• What is the end results of the Workflow process
• Do any addition things need to happen outside of Tridion (offline or in 3rd party systems)

2. Technical

As mentioned above, Workflow is implemented using Process Definitions, along with User Groups (and potentially other features - Event System, etc.).

Process Definitions are implemented using Microsoft Visio, with each action or flow being represented as a item on the Visio Diagram. Custom code can be added to the automatic steps of the Workflow to perform actions within (and potentially outside of) the CMS.

Here is an example Workflow Process Definition, showing the Start and End to the process, along with the Manual Activities, Automatic Activities an Manual Decision, along with the Connectors (lines):

Further details on implementing Workflow within Tridion can be found in the Implementing Workflow section of the online documentation (login required).

3. Editorial Team Training

It doesn't matter if you've implemented the most elegant and useful Workflow ever. If the end users (the editorial team) do not understand how Workflow works within Tridion, or if they are unclear on what the Workflow aims to achieve, then it will just cause frustration and delays to content being created and published.

Details on using Workflow for Content Editors is covered in the Workflow section of the online documentation (login required). However, unless your workflow is very simple, or transparent to the editorial team, then you will need to provide additional training and/or user manuals for your specific processes.

End note:

Having implemented Workflow a few times, I would recommend that you spend most of your time gathering requirements & constraints, try to keep your Workflow processes as simple as possible, and have as few as possible (at least initially).