Hi.
How do you recommend to make custom workflow history report(s)?
For example, let's think of the most simple document approval process: initiator uploaded document, manager reviews the document, if approved - document is marked as approved, if not - document should be modified by initiator. In real life review can be done by group, business flow will be much more complicated, some tasks will be assigned to other users, etc.
Now, I need to show feedback received from users in a short, readable format. Let's say we need to know:
1) when review was made
2) who made it (name, position, email)
3) review outcome (approved/rejected/custom)
4) review comment
So, nothing unusual here.
I see the following options:
- Make a view from different sources: workflow history list, workflow tasks list, current library. For me it sounds crazy.
- Write necessary data into workflow history list and don't write there anything else. This option doesn't support multiple reports.
- Write all data into workflow history list and then somehow filter its data. Again sounds crazy.
- Write data into custom SharePoint list and then make views based on it. Looks flexible. But, probably, every workflow will need separated list.
- Write data into external SQL database, then somehow show in SharePoint. The most flexible, can store practically any amount of data, apply any kind of transformation. But data is not in SharePoint directly, some data connection/sync issues might occur.
What will you recommend?
BTW, there is additional question: all this logging creates so much "noise" in workflow diagram - I write some information on regular basis after some events and that requires adding multiple activities every time: set workflow status, update item (set some custom status), write workflow history and write into some external data store. 3-4 repeating events - how can I "group" them into something like 1 activity?