Hello,
I know this question sounds simple enough but I can't get this to work the way I want it to. I have a form that splits into different user tasks, and eventually gets to a point outlined in the screenshot below:
So I have 4 different paths that I'm trying to merge. Using gateways, I'm finding that both the parallel gateway and inclusive gateway result in the email activity executing 3 times - I'm getting 3 emails. Using an exclusive gateway, the outflow to the email activity never happens, even though it's the default outflow.
I want those 4 workflow tasks on the left side to all execute in their own time, and then everything merges together at the gateway outlined in the blue in the screenshot, and then the subsequent activities execute just once. What's the best way to do that?
Question
Question
Forms - gateway to merge incoming paths into just 1 outflow
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I believe you'd need an inclusive gateway instead of your parallel gateway. You may also need to replace whatever is splitting them (was not pictured) with another inclusive gateway. That will wait for all of the branches to complete before merging back for the single email.
Hi Kevin,
The inclusive gateway seemed to run the outflow path for every inflow it had - if I had 4 paths converging on an inclusive gateway, the single outflow from the inclusive gateway would run 4 times.
I've since changed my process diagram to what I posted in my reply to Jennifer. I added a couple more parallel gateways so that I have 6 outflows from the first one and 6 inflows on the 2nd one, so that the number of outflows and inflows match, and that part seems to work. But then the 2nd set of parallel gateways with 4 outflows and 4 inflows results in the last gateway sitting and waiting for something and I can't figure out what it's waiting for.
Another thing to consider when using an inclusive gateway is that the number of outflows from the first gateway must equal the number of inflows to the second gateway, or the process won't continue correctly. So if your first gateway has 4 arrows going out of it, then there must be 4 arrows going into the second gateway. I found this out the hard way (when I had some steps branch out in between the two gateways).
Hi Jennifer,
I was wondering if it might be something like that. I modified my process diagram so that my first parallel gateway (6 outflows) has another parallel gateway that has 6 inflows. Screenshot below:
It then moves to another parallel gateway with 4 outflows, then to another parallel gateway with 4 inflows. For some reason, that last parallel gateway on the right side of the image continues to wait for something. The one named "merge initial parallel paths" completes properly, but this other right does not. Any ideas why?
Not sure why, but this design worked.
I didn't need 4 separate rules, so I reduced that to just one. Otherwise this is the same, but the parallel gateway at the right doesn't get stuck waiting for anything now. It works, but I wish I knew why.