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Dynamics 365 Community / Forums / Microsoft Dynamics CRM (Archived) / workflow relevance in ...
Microsoft Dynamics CRM (Archived)

workflow relevance in crm 2011?

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Posted on by Community Member

Hello - In CRM 2011 plugins can be used pre/post save and sync/async. I think CRM originally used workflows as a method for asyncronous processing because plugins were only synchronous.

However, now that plugins support async processing is there any reason at all to use a workflow instead of a plugin in CRM 2011?  Or are workflows essentially deprecated for new development in CRM 2011?

 

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  • Suggested answer
    jlattimer Profile Picture
    jlattimer 24,564 on at

    I think one thing to keep in mind is that not everyone has access to a developer - so for those without, a workflow is a great way to get some automation without having to put in much additional time or expense. Along the same lines - a workflow can be edited by the end user - no need to involve a developer. Being of the developer persuasion myself I like writing code but one thing to realize as well is any custom code is an additional pointy of failure. I definitely trust the team at Microsoft testing the workflow engine more than me testing my own plugin code :) I think in the event of updates and new product versions a workflow is more likely to upgrade without intervention than plugin code. 

  • Community Member Profile Picture
    Community Member on at

    I opened a complex pre-existing workflow on one project and I had no idea what it did.  I went through the steps and it was pretty ugly.  I don't think anybody knew what it did, even guys with 3+ years CRM experience.  It even took the main guy who wrote the w/f 2-3 days to figure out what was wrong. Seems like I had to open each step 1-by-1 to see what it did.  If all the code were in a plugin, I could easily debug, jump to references, etc.  In reality, I don't think most business analysts will be able to maintain CRM workflows.  Therefore, if updates are delegated to a developer then it's going to be easier for a developer to "jump in" to the plug-in code to see what's happening, identify problems and make updates.  What are your thoughts on this perspective?

  • Verified answer
    jlattimer Profile Picture
    jlattimer 24,564 on at

    That is a valid point - the workflow editor in CRM could stand a little work :)

    Really I think it comes down to taking the time to figure out what best suites the customer.

    I it is something fairly simple and then user might need to be able to change part of it later and can live with it running asynchronously then a workflow is a good bet.

    If the complexity starts rising or maybe they need it to run synchronously a plugin is a better choice.

    Like the saying goes... choose the technology based on the requirements, don't bend the requirements to fit the technology (that's probably not the actual saying but you get what I mean).  

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