workflow - stuck or stalled in an activity

[drichter]

We have a few approval levels for change management and a week or two ago several changes (not all) were stalled at the first approval level. It was approved, but never went to the next level for appoval. I realize I can cancel the workflow, but is there a way to force it to go to the next WF activity ?
Thank you.

[myee]

Have you looked into why specifically the workflow has stalled? Instead of figuring out how to force the workflow, you should really be looking at the Workflow Context [Show workflow] to see exactly why the workflow is stalling, specifically which step, and what condition it is waiting for. Otherwise, as you know, you will perpetually be manually baby-sitting the workflow which defeats the purpose of the workflow.

From the workflow log, workflow transition history, and workflow activity history, you should be able to trace the entire route of the workflow context and determine exactly why it is stalling.

[antonymirza]

Hi Michael,

I have also come across similar issue for one specific Service Request. In my case, the workflow attached with Service Request triggered and finished after transitioning first activity only.
And, the workflow attached with child Requested Item never run.

Here is what I did for investigation:
=======
1. I checked Workflow Context and found only one context for Service Request workflow with state finished.
2. There is only one record entry found under Workflow Activity History and Workflow Transition History and that is also for that specific activity afterwards workflow stalled.
3. No record found under Workflow Log.

I am quite confused and curious to learn what caused it as it happened only for one Service Request. Same workflow is running well for other Service Requests raised for the same Catalog Item therefore, I am unable to reproduce it.

[myee]

Hello,

Have you traced the workflow to see which path it is taking. I am not sure if you checked this, but in the workflow context, click the Show Workflow link. The graphical workflow editor will pop-up showing you the specific path of the workflow. The blue boxes shows the specific path, the green box shows where the workflow is currently at, and the red box shows where an error occurred. Mouse over the boxes to see what the results are of each box. It is listed in the "Results" line. You should then be able to trace the exact path of the workflow contexts. If you do see an error, it will be logged in the Workflow Activity History and/or the Workflow Transition History where you can see specific calculations. (Note: This of course would not apply if you are performing a "Run Script" which makes troubleshooting a little bit more difficult. With run scripts, you will need to debug the script itself and make sure that it is returning the correct conditions.)

Keep in mind that sometimes you may have a workflow that will show all blue, meaning that the workflow executed without any errors. In that case, there may be an error in your logic or conditions that needs to be re-examined. In that case, I would start to dissect the workflow. Instead of troubleshooting the entire workflow, make sure the first few objects work correctly. Don't be afraid to do some logging (gs.log) so that you can capture specific field values to make sure conditions are being calculated correctly.

I've attached an example "Show Workflow" screenshot so you can see the screen that I use to trace the workflow.

[antonymirza]

Hi Michael,

Ideally, it should be like you explained but I do not find any similar symptoms here. I am enclosing my workflow screenshot here. The workflow triggered with the following:
1. begin activity (as shown in blue line) finished successfully
2. Transitioned to next activity i.e. Set Values (also enclosed screenshot) but this activity actually never started as shown in screenshot.

And, if I see wf_contexts, I find this whole workflow is appearing as finished. If I see workflow logs, no logs are there.

Any input you may provide will be highly appreciated...