6.3 Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently asked questions for workflows.

Workflow Runtime

Topic	Question	Answer
Approvals and Workflow - Deadlines and Expiration	When a Workflow contains an approval (Human Task) activity with a due on specified in the workflow and a deadline specified in the task definition, which deadline is honored?	The due on specified in the workflow gets precedence over the deadline specified in the task definition. If there is no due on specified for the workflow activity, the deadline specified in the task definition becomes the activity's due date.
Approvals and Workflow - Deadlines and Expiration	Approval tasks can expire and be auto-renewed. Does this also apply to approval tasks created using workflow?	At runtime, if the task fails to complete by the due date, the expiration policy in the task definition activates, and the task is automatically renewed or expired accordingly. If the expiration policy in the task definition is NONE, the task still expires because it is a workflow-generated task, and cannot remain active while governed by workflow timeout. Once the task expires, control goes back to the workflow engine, and follows the timeout connection in the workflow model. If there is no timeout connection, the workflow transitions to a faulted state.
Approvals and Workflow - Deadlines and Expiration	If a task is created using workflow, can the Business Administrator of the approval task manually renew or update the due date?	No. Approval tasks created by a workflow can only be auto-renewed based on their expiration policy settings. The Business Administrator cannot manually renew or update the due date of a task because the due date is goverened by the workflow timeout.
Approvals and Workflow - Errored or Canceled Tasks	What happens to the workflow when its approval task transitions to errored or canceled?	When an approval task is canceled by the initiator or the business administrator, the workflow receives no outcome from the approval task, and continues executing the next activity in the workflow. If the next activity in the workflow is a switch based on the outcome of the approval task, the switch activity transitions to faulted because the task-based workflow activity has no outcome. When an approval task transitions into an errored state, control returns to the workflow, which transitions into a faulted state. Note that the workflow administrator can retry a faulted workflow after fixing the underlying cause of the error.
Approvals and Workflow - Errored or Canceled Tasks	What happens when a workflow is terminated while its approval tasks are still active and haven't been completed?	Currently, the approval tasks remain active and do not automatically cancel. However, if a user completes the task, the workflow does not progress since it is already terminated. This is a known issue in the current release.
Approvals and Workflow - Using Task Outcomes in Workflow	I accidentally rejected an approval task instead of accepting it. Can I fix this in the associated workflow?	Yes, the Workflow Administrator can do this if the workflow is modelled to have a wait activity of minimal duration (two to five minutes) right after the human task activity. After an approval task is rejected, the TASK_OUTCOME workflow variable value is Rejected. During the wait activity, the Workflow Administrator can suspend the workflow from the Admin Console Details page. The Administrator can then expand the variables section on that page, click the Edit link next to the TASK_OUTCOME variable, and manually update the value to Approved. When this is done, the Workflow Administrator can resume the workflow. Note: Only workflow administrators can update workflow variables, and only when the workflow is suspended or faulted.
Workflow Subprocess	Can a workflow be used as an activity in another workflow?	This is not currently supported.
Workflow Retries	Can auto-retry be configured for workflow activities?	No. Workflow activities that transition to faulted status must be manually retried. To manually retry a workflow, the Workflow Administrator can click Retry in the Workflow Console Details Page. Retrying a workflow always re-executes the activity where the workflow faulted, and then continues the rest of the flow. There is no limit to the number of times a workflow can be manually retried.
Workflow Retries	What is the difference between Retry and Resume operations on a Workflow?	Retry is only applicable to faulted workflows, and can be performed by both the workflow administrator and the workflow owner. Resume is only applicable to suspended workflows, and can be performed by the workflow administrator.