In SharePoint 2010 you can associate workflows with a site so you need not associate a workflow instance with a specific item in a list. Site-level workflows are a powerful mechanism to create generic functionality using the power of Windows Workflow Foundation (WF).
Hands-On Labs
Workflow Lab
In this lab exercise you will implement a simple timesheet approval workflow using Visio 2010 and SharePoint Designer 2010. The initial process layout will be implemented in Visio 2010 and imported into SharePoint Designer. The process will check the number of hours that were submitted for the week and request an approval process if they are over a specified threshold. Once this process is working, it will be exported to a WSP and imported into Visual Studio 2010 for extensions that require user code. Using Visual Studio 2010, the workflow will be integrated into a larger solution and deployed as a single packaged WSP.
Videos
Introduction to Workflow
In SharePoint 2010 you can associate workflows with a site so you need not associate a workflow instance with a specific item in a list. Site-level workflows are a powerful mechanism to create generic functionality using the power of Windows Workflow Foundation (WF).
Whats New in SharePoint 2010 Workflow
Prior to SharePoint 2010, workflows had to be associated with a list. This meant that if you found a problem that would be well suited to using workflow that wasn’t list or document related, you would have to find some way to associate that workflow with a list. This often led to "dummy" list items only created to be a vehicle for a workflow.
Designing Workflows with SPD
SharePoint Designer makes it easy to create workflows.
Developing Workflows with VS 2010
With the ability to create a workflow not attached to a list, SharePoint 2010 enables a number of new workflow scenarios that where impossible or difficult. To create a site-level workflow, you pick the Site Workflow option when creating a new workflow with Visual Studio 2010, either by picking one of the workflow project templates, or by adding a new workflow to an existing project.