Workflow timeout not working as expected when going back to previous step

[Rajeev_Kumar]

Hi everyone,

I have created a content approval workflow in which I am using OR split with 3 branches. 

Branch 1 is for Approval, branch 2 is for Rejection and branch 3 is for auto advance handler if there is no action from approver group in specified time. In branch 3 (Auto Advance Handler) I am using OR split with 2 branch. Branch 1 is for approval and branch 2 is for rejection. In the rejection step, I am using workflow initiator participant chooser to assign the workflow back to author. Once the workflow is auto advanced to next step and Site administrator reject it, it is getting assigned to author. But the problem is now when author request for approval using step back to site approver group, it is not going to site approver group but directly going to site administrator group (which is part of auto advance handler) within a few seconds. 
Workflow Model

Can anyone suggest how to overcome this so that if author assigns it back to site approver group again it should stay in site approver group inbox for specified time out period?

Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[gkalyan · Accepted solution]

@Rajeev_Kumar To address the issue where the workflow is not staying in the site approver group's inbox for the specified timeout period after the author assigns it back, you can try the following approach:

• In the main OR split, create a separate branch for the auto-advance handler scenario, distinct from the approval and rejection branches.
• In this new auto-advance handler branch, add a step to check if the workflow has been reassigned to the site approver group by the author. You can use a Process Step component and write a script to check the workflow data and history.
• If the workflow has been reassigned, add a Participant Step to assign it to the site approver group again, with the desired timeout period configured.
• After the Participant Step, add another OR split with two branches: one for approval and one for the auto-advance handler scenario (similar to the main OR split).
• In the approval branch, you can add the necessary steps for approval.
• In the auto-advance handler branch, you can add the steps you currently have in your existing auto-advance handler branch, such as reassigning the workflow to the author or site administrator group.

By separating the auto-advance handler scenario into its own branch and checking if the workflow has been reassigned by the author, you can ensure that the workflow stays in the site approver group's inbox for the specified timeout period before proceeding with the auto-advance handler logic.

This approach allows you to handle the reassignment scenario correctly and gives the site approver group the desired time to review and approve the workflow before it is auto-advanced or reassigned.

[kautuk_sahni]

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