ApprovaFlow – A Proof of Concept

Like Tolkien, Sensei wants to create the landscapes, cultures and languages before he writes his next epic. You can be the judge whether the work is a series of sketches and notes like the Silmarillion or cohesive, compelling story that you want read again and again. As a bonus Sensei will deliver working software that hopefully will be of use to you.  (Photo credit – utnapistim).

The epic will be called ApprovaFlow. ApprovaFlow is a framework / process / methodology that allows you to create workflow applications that are easy to deploy and are configurable. With ApprovaFlow Sensei hopes to demonstrate how to readily encorporate the inevitable changes that your users will ask of you. Deliver changes effortlessly and without groans. Cast off the chains inconvenient builds and focus on creating solutions that stay out of the users way.

Ok. Managent wants bullet points so here are our goals for ApprovaFlow:

• Model a workflow in a clear format that is readable by both developer and business user. One set of verbiage for all parties.
•. Allow the state of a workflow to be peristed as an integer, string. Quicky fetch state of a workflow.
•. Create pre and post nprocessing methods that can enforce enforce rules or carry out actions when completing a workflow task.
•. Introduce new functionality while isolating the impact of the new changes. New components should not break old ones
•.Communicate to the client with a standard set of objects. In other words, your solution domain will not change how the user interface will gather data from the user.
•. Use one. aspx page to processes user input for any type of workflow.
•. Provide ability to roll your own customizations to the front end or backend of your application.

There it is. These goals will probably take us a good amount of time to review and implement. Is it worth it? Hell yeah. We’ll end up with one simple project instead of a bloated framework where it takes forever to find anything. A nice by product will be that you can spend more time thinking about how to solve your users problems rather than trying to figure out a monsterous framework that requires a huge investment of energy and time learning how to get simple things done.