WorkflowCore.Sample08

Human (User) Workflow Sample

This sample demonstrates how to create workflows that require human interaction using the WorkflowCore.Users extension.

What this sample shows

• User Tasks: How to create tasks that are assigned to specific users or groups
• User Options: How to provide multiple choice options for users to select from
• Conditional Branching: How to execute different workflow paths based on user choices
• Task Escalation: How to automatically reassign tasks to different users when timeouts occur
• User Action Management: How to retrieve open user actions and publish user responses programmatically

The Workflow

public class HumanWorkflow : IWorkflow
{
    public void Build(IWorkflowBuilder<object> builder)
    {
        builder
            .StartWith(context => ExecutionResult.Next())
            .UserTask("Do you approve", data => @"domain\bob")
                .WithOption("yes", "I approve").Do(then => then
                    .StartWith(context => Console.WriteLine("You approved"))
                )
                .WithOption("no", "I do not approve").Do(then => then
                    .StartWith(context => Console.WriteLine("You did not approve"))
                )
                .WithEscalation(x => TimeSpan.FromSeconds(20), x => @"domain\frank", action => action
                    .StartWith(context => Console.WriteLine("Escalated task"))
                    .Then(context => Console.WriteLine("Sending notification..."))
                    )
            .Then(context => Console.WriteLine("end"));
    }
}

How it works

1. Task Assignment: The workflow creates a user task with the prompt "Do you approve" and assigns it to domain\bob

2. User Options: Two options are provided:

   • "yes" with label "I approve" - executes approval workflow
   • "no" with label "I do not approve" - executes rejection workflow

3. Escalation: If the task is not completed within 20 seconds, it automatically escalates to domain\frank and executes the escalation workflow

4. User Interaction: The program demonstrates how to:

   • Get open user actions using host.GetOpenUserActions(workflowId)
   • Display options to the user
   • Publish user responses using host.PublishUserAction(key, user, value)

Key Features

• UserTask: Creates tasks that wait for human input
• WithOption: Defines multiple choice options with conditional workflow paths
• WithEscalation: Automatically reassigns tasks after a timeout period
• Interactive Console: Shows how to build a simple interface for user interaction

Dependencies

This sample requires the WorkflowCore.Users extension package, which provides the human workflow capabilities.

Use Cases

This pattern is useful for:

• Approval workflows
• Decision-making processes
• Task assignment and escalation
• Interactive business processes
• Multi-step user interactions