Question

workflow rejection (looping workflow)

Workflow

Updated February 11, 2014

asked on January 30, 2014

We are trying to design a workflow with a few points where the workflow needs to reset the workflow back to a previous step, which would allow the workflow to effectively 'loop' indefinitely. I don't see a simple way to do that other than to create a separate worklow for each separate 'phase' of the workflow and 'invoke workflow' at the end of each section. That, then, forces me to maintain multiple workflows instead of just one workflow. Is there any way to 'loop' or reject/approve/reject a workflow MULTIPLE times without doing this?

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replied on January 30, 2014

Depending on your situation, you might be able to use a Repeat activity. The Workflow: Advanced Flow Control white paper contains the following example:

All incoming price quote requests are routed to Arthur, and it’s Arthur’s responsibility to build a budget for each job. Before each budget is completed, Arthur’s boss must approve it. In most cases, Arthur’s boss will send the budget back to Arthur three to five times before granting his approval. A workflow has been built to automate this process. The workflow repeatedly routes the budget to Arthur and then his boss until it is approved. When Arthur adds the Ready for Review tag, the document is routed to his boss. If his boss adds the Additional Edits Required tag, it is routed back to Arthur; if he adds the Approved tag, the document is routed to the Approved Budgets folder.

The white paper goes on to explain the configuration in more detail. Also, you can configure the Repeat condition to suit your situation (it uses the normal condition editor) and you can put whatever activities you need inside it.

If your approval process is more complex, then invoking might be the way to go.

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replied on January 30, 2014 • Show version history

I can't think of any activity that works like a GOTO command. However you could create your own GOTO points using starting rules and conditionals.

For example say you have 3 points in your workflow you want to call. You could create 3 unique starting rules matching 3 unique conditionals that pass to a specific point in your workflow. (by skipping activities) Then in order to "go to" a specific point in your workflow simply cause something to trigger the starting rule. It will start a new instance of the workflow however. You can also pass data to the new instance if needed through metadata.

It is a similar concept to using Invoke workflow with far more complexity but you can have a single workflow design.

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replied on January 30, 2014

It is always best if your process is very long and involved to use the invoke workflow activity and have these steps separated so you can jump to different points in the process.

Alternatively, you can use a series of "Repeat" activities with boolean values in tokens to control a loop back at different points.

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replied on February 11, 2014

Feature request: when you get to a certain point in a Workflow, if conditions are met, have it jump back to a "checkpoint" defined somewhere else in the Workflow. Rather than having to use repeat conditions.

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workflow rejection (looping workflow)

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