This document provides an overview and summary of Microsoft Flow including tips, pitfalls, and limitations. It discusses how to create and manage flows, how flows can interact with on-premises data via the data gateway, different environments and compliance features, ways to extend flows via connectors and APIs, pricing plans, and the product roadmap. Key takeaways include keeping flows simple, managing business logic and errors, limitations around state machines and long durations, and opportunities for the workflow engine and approval processes.

1. Tips, pitfalls, problems and warnings
Jon Levesque @PNWAdventureGuy
Serge Luca @sergeluca
SharePoint Saturday Zurich 26.5.2018
@Kraftwert Impact Hub Zurich
Microsoft
Flow

2. Serge Luca
Managing Partner at ShareQL
About Serge
12 x SharePoint MVP,
BrusselsSharePoint since 2002
O365 Architect (Admin, Dev,
governance)
Worked for the MS workflow team
Blog:
http://sergeluca.wordpress.com/
sergeluca@shareql.com
@sergeluca
SharePoint
Flow
Dev
Architecture
Bullshit
Professional Skills

4. Agenda
Agenda
Agenda
Agenda

5. 5
Agenda
Introduction
The concept
Creating Flows
Flows and
on premises
Environment +
Data Loss
prevention
Extensibility :
communication with
the outside world
Price &
roadmap

6. Agenda
Agenda
Agenda
The Concept

7. Personal
productivity Collaboration
Citizen
development
Bridge
between
Applications
4 main Benefits

8. The context-Business Apps
Empower power users
Connect data across apps
More efficient developers
App Services
Service Fabric
Azure Functions
…
Azure functions
Graph api
…
SQL Server BI
Data analytics
Internet of Things (IoT)
…
Build modern business app fast

9. 9
PowerApps & Flow : buildings bloc for
ERP & CRM Dynamics 365

10. Agenda
Creating Flow

11. Creating and managing Flows
Microsoft Account (free) or Office 365 or Dynamics 365 or Flow
(paid) or PowerApps (or free new PowerApps Community Plan)
Flow.microsoft.com
From Powerapps.microsoft.com
From A modern SharePoint Online list / document library
Mobile app (iOS-Android-Windows Mobile)

12. Flow templates

14. demoHOT DOG NOT HOTDOG

15. demo
EXPENSE REPORT

16. Approval problems…
What do we do if the
item (to be approved)
is deleted ?
What if the flow is
cancelled ?
approval
reassignment
(cannot hide it, does
not work with states)
Flow limitations :
flow duration = max 30
days
Approval duration =
max 30 days
->What if Approval 1 =
20 days & Approval 2
= 15 days ?

17. Limitations
• Create nested flows
250
actions/flow
• Max 5.000 iterations in Do until
• Max 5.000 iterations in For each (100.000 in Plan 1)Loops
• No OOB site level actions ->roadmap ( new : Send An Http
Request To SharePoint )
• Cannot OOB change item security ->roadmap ( new : Send An
Http Request To SharePoint )
• SharePoint security model is not Flow security model (roadmap)
SharePoint

18. Limitation : no state machines

19. Limitation : no custom approval form

20. Agenda
Microsoft Flow
and On
Premises

21. Flow and data on premises
• Install the « on Premises data gateway »
(shared between PowerBI, PowerApps and Azure Logic
Apps)
Not just databases, but
also Powershell scripts,
files and (recently) : REST
API web services

22. 24
SharePoint 2019 and Microsoft
Flow/PowerApps are becoming
good friends !!!

23. demo
FLOW & DATA ON PREM

24. Environments

25. Environments & compliance
Isolated spaces
where Flows/Data
are running/stored
Ex HR, Marketing,
Operations, Legal,
DEV, TEST, UAT,
PROD…
Different rules (DLP)
Ex « Marketing can
use twitter, But Legal
and Operations
cannot »
Different regions if
needed
[Plan 2 for creating
& using several Env]

26. ENVIRONMENTSDEV
MARKETING
TEST
MARKETING
UAT
MARKETING
PROD
MARKETING
DEV
OPERATIONS
US TEST
OPERATIONS
US UAT
OPERATIONS
US PROD
OPERATIONS
US
U
S
DL
P
DEV
OPERATIONS
EUROPETEST
OPERATIONS
EUROPEUAT
OPERATIONS
EUROPE PROD
OPERATIONS
EUROPE
E
U
DL
P

27. Attention
We can export-import
Flows from Env1 to Env2
• We have to recreate the
connections (fixed in roadmap)
• SharePoint lists based on
GUID (! From SharePoint test
site to SharePoint prod site !)
On premise data gateway
:
• Gateways only in the default
environment

28. Extensibility &
Communication with the
outside world

29. Call – Flow - Called
 Action Request (usually coupled with Response action)
 Action Http (generic)
 Action Send an http Request to SharePoint
 Custom Connector (REST API described in a Swagger/Open API )
PowerApps calls Flow & return info to PowerApps
A custom app calls Flow (« Flow as a service »)
PowerBI calls Flow (Data Alerts)
Flow calls the outside world

30. Power BI & Flow
FLOW
DATA ALERTS
DATA SOURCES
POWER B
I
SCHEDULED REFRESH
STREAMING DATA
LIVE

31. Pricing &
roadmap

33. Tarifs: Comparaison

34. Advices
• Keep your forms as simple as possible
• Manage the business logic in the workflow
• Use environments
• For Enterprise workflows define system accounts for your
connections
• For personal workflows use personal accounts
• Limitations
• Create state machines if several levels of approval
• Manage errors (see pattern)
• Manage very long calls (see pattern )
• Learn the Logic Apps Workflow Definition Language (WDL)

35. Conclusions

36. Room for improvement
Workflow engine
very reliable, but
test the connectors
No state machines
(but we have loops
and switch)
Approval forms
cannot be
customized
JSON knowledge
could be required
(but less and
less…)
Flow duration : 30
days, Approval : 30
days
• Weak for long business
processes !
Expressions :
powerful, but steep
learning curve

37. Positive
•Easy tool
Not just
SharePoint (it
replaces SPD)
Connections to
hundreds of
services
Including on
prem!
SharePoint
Integration is
getting better
PowerApps,
PowerBI
integration
The Team Flow is very proactive & delivers

38. Thank you for attending!

39. 42Let’s get in touch
Send your message, advices, and suggestions at
Serge@ShareQL.com
Come visit us at
We speak all around the world, come and meet us!!
https://www.shareql.com/events
Read our Blogs
https://sergeluca.wordpress.com/
http://jonlevesque.com/blog
Follow and like us
@sergeluca
@jonjlevesque
https://www.shareql.com/masterclassflow
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClBCcDTylJUzvP8sycg6p
EA

40. 43Calling a long Service (callback)

41. 44Error Handling

42. Appendix
SharePoint Designer Flow
Multiple connections to >150 data sources SQL, SP, ODBC & WSDL only ALWAYS
Out of box templates <5 100s
Workflow & approval history <365 days Perpetual
Approvals over mobile + mobile notifications NEVER iOS, Android, Windows Phone + in Outlook.
History coming imminently.
Loops, Do Until, Switch-case, parallels, variables Yes Yes
On-premises support Native Gateway support
Extended field types (people, choice, MMS, lookup) Yes People, choice, lookup – Yes new, MMS –
coming soon
Send email as user or system System only Yes
Attachments Yes Yes new

43. Appendix
SharePoint Designer Flow
Out-of-box send for review Limited Q4CY2017
Reassignment of approvals Yes Q4CY2017
Approval reminders Yes Q4CY2017
Custom input forms for approvers Yes Q4CY2017
Document library CI-CO, approve Yes Future
Approver impersonation Via permission elevation Future
Site level actions Yes Future
Set permissions on an item Yes Future