After a workflow has been started, you can check the
general workflow status in the associated list or document library. You
also can check the workflow reports, which contain the details on the
start time and duration of the workflows. You can troubleshoot the
errors that occur during workflow execution. Let us explore here how you
can monitor the workflows in detail.
1. Workflow Status
You can check the workflow status of list or library workflows and site workflows using the following procedures.
1.1. Workflow Status for List or Library Workflows
Use these steps to check detailed workflow status for items in a list or library.
Browse to the list or document library that contains the workflow for which you want to check the status.
In the row of the item for which you want to check the status, click the link in the workflow status column.
On the Workflow Status page (Figure 1), view the following information about the workflow.
Name of the person who initiated the workflow
Date and time the workflow was started
Date and time the workflow was last run or resumed
Name and link to the document or item involved in the workflow
Current status of the workflow
Visio
diagram type visualization of the workflow, if it is a SharePoint
Designer workflow and workflow visualization was published with the
workflow
List of tasks assigned to workflow participants
Lists
of all events that have occurred in the history of this instance of the
workflow thus far (for example, workflow initiation, task creation,
task completion)
Links to modify, cancel, and terminate the workflow that may appear, depending on the type of workflow you are viewing
1.2. Workflow Status for Site Workflows
Use these steps to check detailed workflow status for site workflows:
Browse to the site for which you want to check workflow status.
On the Site Actions menu, click Site Settings and then click Workflows.
On the Workflows Settings page (Figure 2), perform one of the following procedures.
To view the status of workflows that are running, click the name of the workflow in the My Running Workflows section.
To view the status of workflows that have completed, click the name of the workflow in the My Completed Workflows section.
On the Workflow Status page (Figure 3), view the following information about the workflow.
Name of the person who initiated the workflow
Date and time the workflow was started
Date and time the workflow was last run or resumed
Current status of the workflow
List of tasks assigned to workflow participants
List
of all events that have occurred in the history of this instance of the
workflow thus far (for example, workflow initiation, task creation,
task completion) in the Workflow History section
2. Workflow Reports
SharePoint 2010
provides individual and aggregate workflow reports to enable you to
assess the efficiency of your workflows and related business processes.
You can use these reports to locate problems with processes or to
determine whether a group or individual is meeting performance targets
for a particular business process.
There are two types of workflow
reports that you can use. The first one is a workflow usage page at
site collection level, which will display all workflows available within
your site, the number of workflows that are active, and number of times
each workflow has been associated. SharePoint 2010 also provides a
detailed activity level report that is made available through a
Microsoft Excel report. There are two Excel reports: an Activity
Duration report and a Cancellation and Error report.
2.1. Viewing Site Collection Workflow Usage Summary
You can display a
list of available workflows for the site collection, their usage summary
(active or inactive), how many times these workflows have been
associated, and how many instances of each active workflow are currently
running. To view the site collection workflow usage summary, perform
the following steps.
Verify that you are a member of the site collection administrators group on the site collection that you are configuring.
Browse to the top-level site of the site collection in which you want to view workflow reports.
On the Site Actions menu, click Site Settings.
In the Site Administration section of the Site Settings page, click Workflows to display the Site Collection Workflows report (Figure 4).
2.2. Viewing Workflow Performance Analysis Reports
SharePoint 2010
provides two predefined Excel reports that provide aggregate analysis of
workflow history for each workflow instance: the Activity Duration
report and the Cancellation and Error report. The Activity Duration
report provides data about how long each activity within a workflow
takes to complete, as well as how long it takes for all tasks in the
workflow to complete. The Cancellation And Error report shows the
workflows that have been cancelled or that have encountered errors
before completion. Each of these reports is provided as an Excel
formatted file.
Note:
If you are using custom
workflows, the appropriate parameters must be specified in the workflow
template to generate the data for these reports.
Verify that you have Edit Item permissions to view individual workflow reports.
Browse to the list or document library that contains the workflow for which you want to view reports.
Point to the item or document that is involved in the workflow, click the arrow that appears, and then click Workflows.
In
the Running Workflows section of the Workflows page, click the name of
the workflow for which you want status. If no workflows are listed in
this section, no workflows are currently running on the selected item.
In the Workflows History section of the Workflow Status page, click View Workflow Reports link.
On
the View Workflow Reports page, locate the workflow association for
which you want to view the reports, and perform one of the following
steps.
To view
information about how long it is taking for each activity within a
workflow to be completed and how long it takes each instance of the
workflow to be completed, click Activity Duration Report. See Figure 5 for a sample Activity Duration report.
To view
information about which workflows were canceled or encountered errors
before completion, click Cancellation & Error Report. See Figure 6 for a sample Cancellation & Error report.
In the File Location section, click Browse, specify the location to which you want to save the report, and then click OK.
