I think there is the *potential* for a major shift in development practice based on WF. However, dissecting an application architecture in terms of workflow vs. traditional structured programming is quite a shift in thinking, and one that I do not think will happen quickly. So far, there are no Microsoft reference samples demonstrating the same application with and without WF. I believe that that would be a huge help in showing people the way.

Quite frankly, I don’t think anyone has figured out any best practices yet, so I expect to see it evolve over time. The question is whether this new way of thinking can gain enough traction to avoid falling by the wayside. After all, most developers and architects can barely keep up with their day-to-day demands as it is, let alone learning a very different way to do things. I think workflow in particular is something that each person must spend considerable time thinking about, studying examples and reading, until eventually the light bulb goes on. Until that magical moment, I think it is very tough for most to see the benefits.

So, I do think that WF can bring a new way of building portions of our applications, whether they are smart clients, websites or web services. I’m optimistic that momentum will build and that practical examples and guidance will come from Microsoft and the community to help make the light bulbs go on for more people faster. My guess is that this will take a couple more years.

Thanks again for reading!

With the potential that WF has, do you in the near future see a paradigm change in how we write applications? Is Microsoft nudging us towards this direction? If so, do you see this as a sustainable paradigm or just another flash in the pan.

Thanks once again for your analysis and response.