Workflow

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When you receive a BizTalk document, certain things need to happen. First the document must be deconstructed into its various parts so that an application can find out what kind of document it is. For example, the application needs to access the information in the address and state fields so that it can find out where the document came from and what kind of process it needs to attach to the document. The address field is part of what determines the workflow that the BizTalk document will fire when it is received.

Once you know the document's identity and purpose, you can start the process of getting the document what it needs to achieve that purpose. This requires a workflow. To process a purchase order, for example, you might want to first find out whether the company requesting the products has a current relationship with your company and whether their account is in arrears. Then you might check to see whether the items requested are in stock or whether you need to purchase, build, or manufacture the items to fulfill the request.

Your BizTalk server should have some way of kicking off the appropriate workflow when a document comes in. An advanced BizTalk server will have some way to create and manage these workflows so that the application can easily access them and so that the users responsible for making the system work efficiently can maintain them.