SharePoint Workflow Audit Solution!

If you have dealt with Workflows and audit , you know the limitations of SharePoint Auditing. There is NONE IN PLACE! What is availlabe is Workflow HIstory. This is limited to a 60 day limit as the clean up timer job cleans out all the workflow history. I do not want to talk about the limitation of SharePoint Workflow Auditing as this is well documented if you google around. I'm assuming that you are reading this post because you are seeking a solution. Well...I have a solution!

I have developed a feature that you can active in your site collection and it will audit all workflow activity! I'm not talking about workflow history, I'm talking about SharePoint Workflow Events, Workflow Innitatited, Task information, Comments, Time occured. I use this in tandum with the FREE solution that Ted Pattison provides at  Item Auditing Feature. This will allow you to use it if you are using WSS 3.0 or MOSS 2007 and will allow auditors to audit a particular document that includes workflow history. I modified the aspx pages in Ted Pattison's solution to display all the workflow history events. The following is a sample of one document audit information to give you a sense of the workflow auditing that I captured.

 

I have used it for a client already, I am not releasing it yet but if you are interested in testing it out, or want a more detailed breakdown of what is included or more screen shots. ping me.

 

Juan

Published Wednesday, September 24, 2008 6:26 PM by juanl

Comments

# re: SharePoint Workflow Audit Solution!

Tuesday, October 14, 2008 12:02 PM by Sudhakar

Hi Juan,

Thats exactly what I am looking for.

I am struggling to come up with a solution for this workflow history issue!!!

In the long run we may customize workflows and may come up with extensive audit system. For now we are using out of the box workflows and the history is removed for some of the items already now. I am looking for a solution to recover this/show this workflow history to end users using some custom solution.

Could you please share the information on the custom package. You can reach me at sudhakar.kaduru at gmail.com

Thanks in advance

regards

Sudhakar

sudhakar.kaduru at gmail.com

# re: SharePoint Workflow Audit Solution!

Tuesday, October 14, 2008 12:29 PM by juanl

Sudharkar,

 this is quite an annoying problem that the workflow history poses. We too considered writing custom workflows with auditing, but the truth of the matter is that to recreate the workflow functionality that MOSS provides, would prove to be more costly than worth.

 I will send you an email and set something up where you can try this solution out. But just so you know, this solution will not recover the audit workflow history already lost, this solution will just audit all workflow history that occurs once the feature is activated.

 There is an audit solution and then there's the audit viewer, I customized a free item auditing solution to show workflow audit entries, I'm assuming you want both?

Juan

# re: SharePoint Workflow Audit Solution!

Friday, October 17, 2008 2:07 PM by Juan Dominguez

We also have many customers using workflows and using the workflow history as an audit trail for SOX.  I would like to try this out internally here on our network if I could?  Is this something you can provide?

# re: SharePoint Workflow Audit Solution!

Friday, October 17, 2008 2:11 PM by Juan Dominguez (juan at zagtech.com)

We have many customers using workflows and the workflow history as an audit trail for SOX audits.  I would like the opportunity to test this solution here internally on our MOSS server.  Would this be possible?

# re: SharePoint Workflow Audit Solution!

Monday, October 20, 2008 8:23 PM by juanl

Yes I will have a solution available for download by the end of the week, so check for it on saturday, it might be up by friday but it might not be. It will be a trial version. Well, I'll put a link to the download and description.

Juan

# re: SharePoint Workflow Audit Solution!

Saturday, October 25, 2008 4:54 PM by juanl

So a trial solution is ready for download, it only audits custom lists but you will get the full workflow auditing and item audit viewer. Please download it and try it out, your feed back would be much appreciated. I you would like the full version for production environments do contact me. I will have pricing details. Trust me it's cheap! and a no brainer if you are using it for clients or your organization.

Download and other details found here:

www.imaginets.com/.../default.aspx

# Free! SharePoint Workflow Audit Feature

Tuesday, November 25, 2008 11:24 AM by Juan's SharePoint/Dev Blog

I just wanted to announce that the full verision of the Workflow Auditing Feature is FREE and availlable

# re: SharePoint Workflow Audit Solution!

Tuesday, November 25, 2008 10:25 PM by Dan

YEah baby,, this is exactly what we are after.... I hadn't known this was an issue until today.. When we had an auditor ask where all our data was :|

Can I please be sent the full version..

dan  at aussieslivingsimply.com.au

Excellent work.

# re: SharePoint Workflow Audit Solution!

Thursday, November 27, 2008 5:05 AM by Prathibha Mendon

Hi Juan,

Its really wonderful to know that the full version is out for release. Well I am in need of the same. Can you please make it available.

My Id: prathibharm@gmail.com

# re: SharePoint Workflow Audit Solution!

Wednesday, December 10, 2008 12:41 AM by Deepak

Hi Juan,

The trail version was great. Could you please send me the full version of the same.

Thanks in advance.

My mail id: deepakmathew2000@yahoo.co.in

# re: SharePoint Workflow Audit Solution!

Tuesday, December 30, 2008 6:36 PM by Miguel

Hey Juan,

Could you also send me the free version to  lycan2k8 at gmail.com ?

Thanks!

# re: SharePoint Workflow Audit Solution!

Monday, January 12, 2009 6:48 PM by holysmokes99

How this audit log be kept indefinately, i.e. no 60 day autocleanup??

# re: SharePoint Workflow Audit Solution!

Monday, January 12, 2009 7:25 PM by juanl

because the workflow History is written to the SharePoint audit logs. Workflow History is not by default written to sharepoint audit, you must keep in mind that it works entirely on it's own. Workflow History and workflow audit are two different things.

Juan

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