K2 blackpearl won the Best SharePoint Development product in the 2011 Best of Tech Ed North America Awards on May 18th.

Congratulations to the K2 team – great recognition for all the hard work.

For those who don’t know, K2 blackpearl is workflow and BPM software for automating enterprise business processes, building SharePoint applications and integrating Microsoft solutions into SAP.

View the full press release here.

K2, blackpearl, blackpearl 4.5, SharePoint, Tech Ed

Not wanting to spoil any K2 announcements and presentations at the Microsoft SharePoint in Las Vegas, I decided to wait until now to start posting on some of the events and information at the K2 Insider Conference held last week.

Keynote Presentation

The conference started of with the Keynote Presentation by SourceCode CEO, Adriaan Van Wyk. Adriaan spoke about SourceCode’s need to ensure that software quality and performance were the number one priority for the K2 line of products. He went into the roadmap going forward and mentioned that even in the current economic climate SourceCode was performing well – profitable and cash flow positive.

He reiterated that K2 blackpearl was all about solving business problems, and was it was the natural progression from K2.net 2003  solving some of the latter’s challenges, a lack of proper event monitoring, policies and reporting functionality. In addition, it added the SmartObjects layer which provides a  single source of data for workflows.

Going forward, the next major release for K2 blackpearl is currently called 090x. It includes some new features and enhancements to the current version, including:

1. K2 blackpearl and K2 blackpoint will originate from the same code base. As a result K2 blackpearl will include all of the features that currently exist in the K2 blackpoint. K2 blackpoint will be a true subset of K2 blackpearl.
2. K2 connect will be updated for 90x compatibility (clustering made easier).
3. Enhanced installer platform allowing for:
   • Simple / full installation.
   • Custom installation.
   • A configuration manager and health checking feature to make for a simple installation process.
4. Platform enhancements including:
   • Workflow Server enhancements to improve scalability and resource management.
   • Smart Objects enhancements to improve performance and scalability.
   • New APIs and enhancements to existing ones.
5. An improved browser experience, including the following new features:
   • A new K2 Designer for Microsoft SharePoint.
   • Inline Functions, the ability to include more functions in workflows without needing to resort to code.
   • Process portals for Microsoft SharePoint.
   • Enhanced reporting.
6. An improved development experience including:
   • K2 Studio for K2 blackpearl development. The K2 Studio is an Office-like development tool geared at power-users.
   • Visual Studio 2008 and Visual Studio 2005 support.
   • Inline Functions.
   • SmartObject Filters.

While no official release date for the 090x version was announced, it can be assured that it will be after a stringent QA cycle has been completed, ensuring the highest quality with a much user experience being the top priority.

K2 Release Management

This provided a nice segue into the Release Management presentation by Olaf Wagner, Senior VP for Product Management. Olaf spoke about the four main areas of SourceCode’s release management cycle:

1. K2 Release Strategy:
   • Major releases every 3/4 years. The version being slated for 2011.
   • Minor releases twice per year. The next release being 090x. Minor releases will Includes new features.
   • Updates (hotfixes) to be released every 2nd Tuesday. They are cumulative but customers can access older updates.
2. Support strategy:
   • Major release support – includes the current and previous version (e.g. K2.net 2003)
   • Minor release support – includes the current and previous minor version of current major version, i.e. currently K2 blackpearl.
   • Updates release support – current updates are supported
3. Coexistence:
   • It is possible to export from older client to an updated server unless specifically stated in release notes.
4. Product Shipping Vehicle:
   • It will be simpler with the single codebase after the release of 090x.
   • K2 blackpoint will be a true subset of K2 blackpearl.
   • All products will ship on the same day, which means that new features will not ship in one product ahead of another.
   • The above mentioned point will allow for enhanced quality assurance from SourceCode for the entire product line.

What’s new in K2 blackpearl 090x

The next presentation by Holly Anderson and Renier Britz from SourceCode delved into the new features and enhancements around the upcoming 090x release. These include so many new features and enhancements, I’ve decided to list them in point form:

1. Installation
   • The Installation and Configuration wizard are merged into a single wizard for a simpler installation process.
   • New install options allowing for simple or custom installation.
   • A new Configuration Analysis Tool to check the K2 environment for potential issues.
   • The ability to install to a non-Active Directory environment. It must be noted that there is no support Forms based authentication in SharePoint at this time.
   • The ability to perform unattended installs.
   • The option to activate K2 features on default SharePoint site collections.
   • Auto-chaining with the latest K2 update.
2. Administration
   • K2 has been updated for SharePoint administration tools.
   • All K2 features are deployed as solutions to the SharePoint environment.
   • The ability to manage the K2 server from SharePoint.
   • Enhanced SharePoint SmartObject administration.
   • The Process Portal site will be available on any SharePoint site.
3. Infrastructure
   • Scalability enhancements.
   • SmartObject performance enhancements.
   • New Dynamic SQL ServiceObject supporting stored procedures (with Out parameter), views and tables.
   • Windows 2008 R2 and SQL Server 2008 support.
   • SSL support for SharePoint.
   • Internationalization support.
4. End User Experience
   • Process Portals with process and user reports.
   • Silverlight based View Flow.
5. Design and Development Experience
   • K2 Designer for Visual Studio
     • Visual Studio 2008 support
     • Enhancements to ADO.Net data provider including: Paging, ANSI SQL Support and Query performance enhancements.
     • ServiceObject APIs.
     • Instance Management APIs.
     • Inline Functions including Math, String formatting, Expressions, Integration with SmartObjects. These are also extendable.
   • K2 Studio
     • Targets non-developers and SharePoint power users. It’s a full breadth designer, minus the code.
     • K2 studio is an office-like think client designer.
     • No Visual Studio dependencies.
     • No additional licensing requirements.
     • Assemble item and non-item based workflow applications and solutions.
     • No code.
     • Line-Of-Business (LOB) integration.
     • A Reference Wizard which can call out to an external assembly/web service.
     • Use SharePoint records management and publishing.
   • K2 Designer for SharePoint
     • Silverlight based workflow designer aimed at less technical users and Microsoft Office power users.
     • It requires no client site installation and includes a rich design experience.
     • The layout is workflow controlled and is focused on item-based workflows
     • The ability to quickly create SharePoint based workflow applications and solutions with no need to burden IT resources.
     • No coding required.
6. General
   • InfoPath forms supports.
   • Inline Functions.
   • Custom task notifications.
   • Task groups allowing multiple destination sets.
   • Export process to K2 studio (downstream movement only).
   • Process data fields.
   • Use SmartObject in process design.
   • Ability to connect sibling nodes.
   • Save workflows and workflow steps into favourites.
   • New wizards, including:
     • Set folio and process data field.
     • Switch InfoPath view.
   • The ability to save email templates.
   • The ability to split workflow from the Start activity.
   • Process Portals – administration view of process and instances.

Custom Inline Functions

Koos Du Preez, SourceCode CTO, spent some time going over the Inline Functions to be introduced in the 090x version, and how to build custom ones.

Building custom Inline Functions are quite simple. The steps are:

1. Create .Net 3.5 project Visual Studio 2008.
2. Add references to:
   • SourceCode.Framework
   • SourceCode.Workflow.Functions
   • SourceCode.Workflow.Functions.Design
   • System.Drawing
3. Add Using statements for the referenced assemblies.
4. Declare the class with a Category (single category per class) – you can reuse K2 categories or create your own.
5. Declare the “Name”, “Description” and “Icon” methods for the inline function.
6. Declare method parameters as function parameters (inside the method signature).
7. Provide the function implementation (use static functions).

To install the function the Design Time steps are:

1. Quit the designer.
2. Copy the assembly to K2 Bin folder
3. Restart designer.

The Runtime steps are:

1. Stop the K2 Host Server.
2. Copy the assembly to K2 bin folder.
3. Start the K2 Host Server.

It is important to note that you will need to manually deploy on alls clients and servers for all environments and reference the assembly deployed manually (including in the GAC).

Debugging the functions is simple to. Simply start the K2 Host server, attach to  the K2HostServer.exe process and debug.

090x Performance & Stability Enhancements

Koos also spent some explaining some the performance and stability enhancements that will come with the 090x version. These include:

1. Design Experience
   • There was a big effort to analyze process memory allocation and usage patterns using tools like windbg with SOS, CLR profiler, perfmon and of course code reviews.
     • IDisposable pattern extensively
     • Freed memory early disposing large resources like images, icons, etc.
     • Replaced all string manipulations with StringBuilder
     • Remove unnecessary cloning and creation of objects
     • Wizard framework rewritten using XAML and control templates. No control via code.
2. Runtime
   • K2 Workflow Server
     • There was a big effort to analyze process memory allocation and usage patterns using tools like windbg with SOS, CLR profiler, perfmon, code review
       • Ensure unused objects disposed early
       • Process runtime state management improvements (kept current version only)
       • Bypassed socket transmissions for local IPC’s
       • IPC authentication cashing implemented
     • Used SQL Profiler to isolate longest and most expensive queries
       • Common Table Expressions rewrite of Worklist (not using temp tables anymore)
       • Actions per Item refactored to use Common Table Expressions for action union
       • Additional indexes on Transaction and Log databases
       • Added constraints to force integrity
     • Validating investment
       • The Microsoft Technology Centre experience, where SourceCode did some benchmarking using 0807 release.
3. SmartObjects & ADO.NET
   • High Level Enhancements
     • There was a great deal of SmartObject stack analysis, to minimise client/server calls.
     • “Join Discovery” identified as a bottleneck & implemented relationship caching.
     • Bypassed discovery and force/allow the use of SQL joins in reports.
     • Schema retrieval indentified as bottleneck & implemented object definition caching.
     • ADO data sets returns less than 15-20k results in batch (rather than row by row).
     • ADO Direct Execution (Including Bulk Insert) – option for Service Object to directly execute SQL code. Supported by
       • Dynamic SQL Service
       • SmartBox
       • K2 Reports
     • Compressed Double Buffering (more involved than a one-liner).
     • Double Buffered Data Readers.
     • Server Side Paging (SmartObject API & ADO).
     • Greatly enhanced SQL Syntax support for ADO.
4. Reporting
   • Pushed 50 GB database and analysed built-in reports.
   • SQL Profiler to most expensive queries.
     • Pushed for ADO based paging (SSRS does local paging)
     • Report Query optimizations
     • Altered log database indexes

With that we ended the first day of the conference. It made for a long but rewarding day of sessions. Next, to dinner and a chance to meet some of the new Insiders.

SourceCode, K2, K2 blackpearl, K2 blackpoint, 090x, Microsoft SharePoint

This year I will have the opportunity to present the Partner Integrated Workflow program that I have been working on at Avantage Partners. It involves streamlining business processes among multiple organisations, allowing them to become more efficient in their business practices and thus gaining a competitive advantage in the market. K2 blackpearl makes for the perfect tool to implement a Partner Integrated Workflow solution.

As I did last year, I will be blogging on the developments at the conference for any interested readers.

Last year’s posts: Day 1 |  Day 2 |  Day 3

SourceCode, K2, K2 blackpearl, K2 blackpoint

The Microsoft SOA & Business Process Conference sessions for 2009 are available for download and viewing. The conference which was held at the end of January contained some interesting sessions on SOA, BizTalk, Oslo and Dublin.

The content can be viewed on Windows Live here: http://soaconference2009.spaces.live.com/default.aspx

One of the best sessions I attended was on the ESB Guidance 2.0 presented by Peter Kelcey. Peter’s session can be found here: http://soaconference2009.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!FA6FC7F5DB1C07!136.entry

Microsoft, Microsoft SOA Conference, BizTalk,   Enterprise Service Bus Guidance, ESB Guidance Toolkit, Peter Kelcey

For those of you attending the Connected Systems Conference in Vancouver, I’m presenting the session on ESB Guidance 2.0 and Service Virtualization with Jim Bowyer from Microsoft Canada. This will be an exciting (geek license invoked) look into the upcoming release of the ESB Guidance v 2.0 and the enhancements it promises to deliver. Also covered in the presentation will be the topic of service virtualization using the Managed Services Engine (MSE). If you haven’t heard of the MSE, it’s worth looking at as a part of a balanced and robust SOA infrastructure.

It’s not too late register. Click here to register for Vancouver and here to find links to the other Canadian conference venues.

If you do plan on coming to the conference, make sure to stop by and say hello.

Microsoft, BizTalk, BizTalk Server, SOA, Connected Systems, Vancouver, Canada, ESB, Enterprise Service Bus, MSE, Managed Services Engine, CodePlex

The annual Microsoft SOA & Business Process Conference 2009 will be held in Redmond from January 27th-30th 2009. There have been a couple of changes to the conference that is usually held every October but is being pushed back this year due to PDC 2008 running at the same time.

There are a couple of editions year, one for Partners and the other for Customers. The Partner briefing will be being held on January 26th-27th and the Customer briefing on January 28th-30th.

There are also a couple of tracks offered for the conference:

• SOA & BPM Best Practices – highlighting case studies and technical trends providing guidance and information on how to achieve a robust and sound long-term SOA strategy.
• Technology Offerings – deep dives into existing and future technologies including .Net Framework, BizTalk Server, Visual Studio, Cloud Services and Oslo.

Pricing is $599 for partners and $899 for customers (although customers who register by December 1st, 2008 will only pay $599).

Links:
Partner registration
Customer registration

Microsoft, Microsoft SOA Conference, SOA, Business Process, BizTalk

In a previous post I mentioned that the Canadian Connected Systems Team are planning on hosting a roadshow in three cities across Canada this fall.  I managed to get some information regarding the agenda and registration to the events.

The roadshow dates and registration details are:

Vancouver – 30th October 2008 – register
Toronto – 4th November 2008- register
Montreal – 6th November 2008 – register

Agenda

Microsoft, BizTalk, BizTalk Server, SOA, Connected Systems, Vancouver, Canada

Vancouver – 30th October 2008
Toronto – 4th November 2008
Montreal – 6th November 2008

Watch this space for more information regarding the agenda and registration details.

Microsoft, BizTalk, BizTalk Server, SOA, Connected Systems, Vancouver, Canada

K2 blackpearl has been selected as the winner of the Best of Tech Ed 2008 Developers Awards for SharePoint Development.

“…K2 blackpearl is a prime example of a new breed of applications that helps developers get the most out of their SharePoint investment. Using a collection of easy to use tools and features, K2 blackpearl allows developers to quickly create applications that pull together disparate systems, information, and business processes. K2 blackpearl can leverage your existing infrastructure investment—including SharePoint, but also BizTalk and Forms Server—to surface the application mashups you create…”

For more see the article on Windows IT Pro.

K2, SourceCode, blackpearl, Microsoft Office SharePoint Server, MOSS, Tech Ed 2008

The final day of the conference came around to quickly. Soon it would be time to go. I can happily report that I won a handsome bet of $1 last night at the bowling alley!

Development Reference
Mike Talley, SourceCode

Mike went through the development reference that comes with K2 [blackpearl]. He went trough what existed and what was planned. The following is planned for release this year:

i – Database schemas of all 14 K2 databases.
i – Architecture diagrams and discussions.
ii – More How To topics e.g. how to debug.
iv – Event Bus topics e.g. calling another another assembly, starting a process.
v – Impersonate a user (and reverting to a user).

Training
Codi Kaji, Source Code

Codi discussed planned training content for the year, including:

i – A K2 Infrastructure course
ii – A Getting Started guide
iii – A K2 Developers course – once the Development Reference is complete

Smart Objects
Jason Apergis, Colin Murphy and Gabe Malherbe (K2 Insiders)

Jason, Colin and Gabe went through a discussion of Smart Objects, highlighting the advantages and mentioning pitfalls to avoid. They started with a quick overview of K2.net 2003 advantages and shortcomings:

i – It was easy to drop into code from wizards
ii – When  using code to access external systems, it was time consuming, complex is not generally considered a best practice.
iii – When storing workflow data in XML or process data fields, you could run into performance issues when storing large amounts of data.
iv – When creating custom wizards for non-technical users to consume your custom code, it was very time consuming and could lead to problems during deployment.

When using K2 [blackpearl], Smart Objects can solve many of the aforementioned shortcomings.

i – Smart Objects are reusable business entities which are deployed centrally and available to be consumed by non-technical business workflow authors.
ii – The SmartBox is the storage location for process data.
iii – Allows for quick access to external Line of Business (LOB) data.
iv – Allows for the aggregation of data from multiple back-end systems (e.g. AD, SAP, SQL Server) into a single composite object.
v – Can be created without writing code.
vi – Can be accessed by the workflow and can be used for reporting.

There was some discussion about the positioning of Smart Objects within the application layer (see the diagram below) and some things to consider:

i – Don’t circumvent the data warehouse.
ii – Think carefully about whether there is a need to save the data from the Smart Object in the workflow context to the database layer.
iii – Consider the reporting benefit that comes from the Smart Objects.

Diagram 1 – The Smart Object position within the application layer.

Next came a discussion about Smart Objects services. These services are wrappers to functionality that Smart Objects can call. The following are available out of the box:

i – SmartBox (although these can’t be used for custom SQL Server databases).
ii – Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007
iii – Microsoft Active Directory
iv – K2 [blackpearl]
v – SalesForce.com

There are more available on K2 [blackmarket]:

i – Dynamic SQL Server Stored Procedure Service
ii – Dynamic Smart Object Services Service
iii – Dynamic Web Services Service
iv – Microsoft Office Communication Server Service
v – SharePoint Users in Groups Service

K2 [blackmarket] is part of K2 Underground – the community site that allows community to create and share projects and code on the K2 Underground site.

Forms Discussion
Mike Talley, SourceCode

Mike led a discussion about the advantages and disadvantages of using InfoPath and ASP.net for forms development in a K2 Solution. The table below summarizes the discussion.

So after three action packed days, the inaugural K2 Insiders Conference comes to an end. It was a great opportunity to meet some of the people behind K2 and other Insiders. Thanks to Chris who went to a great deal of effort to organize this. Well done!

SourceCode, K2, K2[blackpearl], K2 [blackmarket], K2 Underground, Smart Object, SmartBox, Microsoft SharePoint Office Server, MOSS, ASP.net, InfoPath 2007