25.4 Maintaining Workflow Processes

Maintain workflows and task definitions through import, debugging, deployment, and cleanup.

As you create and enhance your workflows and task definitions to automate business processes, it's important you can:

• upgrade an existing app correctly to retain workflows and tasks,
• recognize when you are running in development mode,
• debug problems that arise during development,
• navigate the workflow and task data dictionary views,
• anticipate periodic purging of completed workflow and task instances,
• activate an In Development version for use in production,
• verify a workflow version is no longer used before deleting it, and
• remove development instances created during testing.

• Importing vs. Deleting an Application
  Import upgrades over the existing app to preserve production workflow and task instances.
• Recognizing Development Mode
  Recognize Development Mode by the Developer Toolbar or APP_BUILDER_SESSION value.
• Debugging Business Process Logic
  Use APEX debug tracing to investigate workflow and task errors.
• Accessing Workflow and Task Data
  Understand APEX dictionary views and packages for workflows, tasks, and their definitions.
• Understanding Task and Workflow Purging
  Plan for workflow and task purging by storing any permanent history in application tables.
• Activating an In Development Workflow
  Activate a workflow version before running it outside Development Mode.
• Deploying Workflows to Production
  Promote active workflow versions from development so production stays in sync.
• Deleting a Workflow with No Instances
  Check whether any workflow instances still use a version before deleting it.
• Removing Development Instances
  Remove Development Mode workflow instances and their related tasks after testing.