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About the Wait Step and Global Time Calculations

Types of wait steps include:

• An absolute wait is a wait period governed solely by the duration specified. For example, an absolute wait set for 30 minutes waits 30 minutes from the time the wait is initiated by a Wait step.
• A service calendar wait, on the other hand, is not absolute. For example, a service calendar wait can be set to begin at 6 P.M., but if the service hours for the organization are 9 A.M. to 6 P.M., the wait does not initiate until 9 the next morning. So it runs from 9 to 9:30 instead of 6 to 6:30.

Wait Steps and Time Zone Settings

When a workflow process is executing as a server task, you must shut down then restart the Workflow Process Manager after making changes to the Time Zone user preference for the SADMIN user. The changes only take effect after restarting the Workflow Process Manager. This is important if you are implementing UTC, as it can be necessary for you to set the Time Zone user preference.

Relationships between the type of wait step and time zone settings include:

• An absolute wait is not affected by time zone settings, including server and user time zone preferences. Use UTC with the database server. For more information, see Siebel Global Deployment Guide.
• A service calendar wait step requires a time zone for delay computations. In this case, the current user's time zone is used.