Workflow stuck
Quick answer
Stuck workflows usually wait on an approval, hit a rule error, or stall on a failed provisioning step. Inspect the workflow case.
Key takeaways
- Symptom: A workflow is not progressing past a step.
- Most likely causes
- Step-by-step fixes
- How to prevent recurrence
A workflow is not progressing, an access request or lifecycle process sits mid-flight and never completes. The work is not necessarily failed; it is usually waiting on something or has hit an error in a step.
Start here: read the evidence
Open the workflow case to see the current step and any open work items. This shows immediately whether the process is waiting on a human, errored in a step, or blocked downstream.
Likely causes, in order
- Waiting on an unactioned approval, the most common cause.
- Error thrown in a step or rule, halting progress.
- Downstream provisioning failed, so the workflow cannot advance.
- Missing transition or a bad condition leaving no valid next step.
How to fix it
- Open the workflow case and identify the current step.
- Check for pending approval work items and chase or reassign them.
- Review the current step or its rule for errors.
- Resolve any failed downstream provisioning.
- Fix and resume, or restart the case if it cannot recover.
Preventing recurrence
Add escalation to every approval step so inaction cannot stall a process, keep step logic simple and null-safe, and monitor for workflow cases that have been open longer than expected.
Common pitfalls
- Guessing instead of reading the task/transaction result, which usually names the cause.
- Fixing the symptom, not the root cause, so it returns.
- Changing several things at once, so you cannot tell what worked.
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Check your understanding
Why do workflows get stuck?
- A. Open the workflow case to see the current step and work items.
- B. Waiting on approvals, step/rule errors, or failed provisioning.
- C. Add escalation so inaction does not stall the process.
Show answer
B. Waiting on approvals, step/rule errors, or failed provisioning.
Waiting on approvals, step/rule errors, or failed provisioning.
How do you inspect it?
- A. Open the workflow case to see the current step and work items.
- B. Add escalation so inaction does not stall the process.
- C. Waiting on approvals, step/rule errors, or failed provisioning.
Show answer
A. Open the workflow case to see the current step and work items.
Open the workflow case to see the current step and work items.
How to prevent recurrence?
- A. Open the workflow case to see the current step and work items.
- B. Waiting on approvals, step/rule errors, or failed provisioning.
- C. Add escalation so inaction does not stall the process.
Show answer
C. Add escalation so inaction does not stall the process.
Add escalation so inaction does not stall the process.