It is highly important to equip Content Authors with required tools/integrations that will help them to accomplish tasks with minimal clicks possible. When it comes to involvement of more than one person (Content Author, Content Approver), there is a high possibility of delays in taking updates live that might be time-sensitive due to expected/unexpected communication delays.
Automating this communication effectively through the business communication/collaboration platform along with quick actions(approve/reject), will not only avoid the delays but also help to optimize time & work. This module allows seamless integration of Sitecore Workflow with Microsoft Teams (which is now replacing Skype).
The module can be downloaded from the below links,
Sitecore – Microsoft Teams Integration for SPE 6.x
Sitecore – Microsoft Teams Integration for SPE 5.x
NOTE:
- This module is built on top of Sitecore Powershell Extensions (SPE), please make sure SPE is installed before installing this module
- This module uses Sitecore Feed Urls, hence Approvals reside behind Sitecore Security and the links will prompt the Content Approver to authenticate before approving/rejecting the updates (if not logged in already)
STEPS TO CONFIGURE THE MODULE:
Creating Microsoft Teams Channel:
- Navigate to ‘Teams’ section of Microsoft Teams from left navigation bar and click on ‘Join or Create a Team’ Button
- Select ‘Build a team from scratch’ (or) ‘Create from an existing team’ to create the team/channel
- Provide Name (preferably ‘Workflow Moderators’) & Description for the Team and add required Content Authors & Approvers
Adding WebHook:
- Once the team/channel is created, click on the ‘More Options’ (three dots) button available in the top right corner and click on ‘Connectors’
- Search for ‘Incoming Webhook’ in the opening popup and click on ‘Add’ button
- Add Name(preferably ‘Sitecore Workflow’) and Image, and click on ‘Create’ button
- Copy the ‘WebHook URI’ which is appearing before closing the window
- Navigate to \App_Config\Include\Sitecore+MicrosoftTeams.Integration.config file and paste the copied WebHook URI within value attribute of ‘Teams.WebhookURI’ setting,
Setting up Workflow Notifications:
- Navigate to the Workflow for which the Notifications have to be setup
- Right-Click Submit Action of Draft State, click on Insert -> PowerShell Action and Enter name as ‘Awaiting Approval Notification’
- Select ‘Script Library/Sitecore + Microsoft Teams Integration/Workflow/Awaiting Approval Notification’ for ‘Script’ field in the newly created ‘Awaiting Approval Notification’ item
- Similarly, add PowerShell Actions under Approve & Reject actions and choose ‘Script Library/Sitecore + Microsoft Teams Integration/Workflow/Approved Notification’ & ‘Script Library/Sitecore + Microsoft Teams Integration/Workflow/Rejected Notification’ for ‘Script’ field respectively
- If you’re using Sitecore Powershell Extensions version 6.1.1 or older, you will be needing to update the ‘Type string’ field value as ‘Sitecore.MicrosoftTeams.Integration.Workflows.ScriptAction, Sitecore.MicrosoftTeams.Integration’ (this ScriptAction class comes with the module) for ‘Approved Notification’ and ‘Rejected Notification’ items in case if you face the error described in https://github.com/SitecorePowerShell/Console/issues/1204
The configuration is now complete!
Awaiting Approval, Approved and Rejected Notifications should now be appearing in the configured Teams Channel.
Voila!