Time & Dependencies

You can define here the time and status conditions based on which a workflow task is executed.

Earliest Start Time

You may want certain tasks not to be executed before a specific point in time, regardless of the status of previous tasks in the workflow. For this purpose you assign them an earliest start time.

Activate the Define Earliest Start Time checkbox if you want to use this function.
The real date of a workflow is determined when the workflow is generated.

You can define that the selected task is started either on the real date or specify a number of days after this date.

In Real Date + [n] day(s) leave 0 (default = the real date) or enter a number of days.

For example, the task depicted in the screenshot above can begin at 12:00 o'clock on the workflow's activation day. If it is activated later than that, it starts immediately provided all other preconditions are met
Enter the Time.

If the task is ready to start before this time, its status changes to Waiting for start time.

You can always start tasks manually from the Workflow Monitor, regardless of your definitions here.
If necessary, select a Time Zone object .

For example, a workflow is activated on May 20. It contains a task in which Real Date + 1 day(s) at 15:00 has been specified as the earliest start time. This task will not start before May 21 at 15:00.

Time Checkpoint

The chronological execution of a workflow can be monitored with time checkpoints. Here you define them; they are the points in time in which you want the workflow execution to be evaluated. You can also define a different object to be executed if the task cannot be processed at the defined checkpoint.

Checkpoints become active when the workflow is activated. This is especially important if you use the Generate at Runtime option.

Dependencies

Here you define time and status conditions that determine what should happen with the task if they are met and specify alternative actions.

Field/Element	Description
Define Latest Start/End Time	Activate this checkbox to define time dependencies: Latest Start time: If the task is not started by this time, it is not executed at all. Latest End time: As soon as a task starts, its estimated duration is calculated. If the calculated end time is after the time specified in this field, it is not executed anymore. Real Date + [n] day(s): The real date is determined when the top workflow is generated. You can define that the selected task is started either on the real date or you can specify that it is started a specific number of days later. Possible values: 0 (default) to 99 Time: The latest time the task should start/end on the day defined with the previous option. If the task could not be started/ended by this time, it is not executed at all. Possible values: 00:00:00 to 23:59:59 Time Zone: The time zone object applied to start the task. If the task cannot be executed, its end status is set to `ENDED_TIMEOUT`. If ELSE conditions are defined, they are applied.
Run this task if	Define which end statuses in the table of the predecessor tasks, which follows, are required for this task to be executed: all statuses match: The task is executed if all predecessors end with their specified statuses. at least one condition matches: The task is executed if at least one predecessor ends with its specified status.
Task table	If there are predecessor tasks, they are listed in the table. For each predecessor task, you see the task name, type, agent, and status. The status can be edited.
ELSE (on status mismatch or latest time failure)	Define the action to take when none of the predecessor conditions are met. This Task: Skip The task is skipped, but its Postconditions are executed. The task's final status in this case is 1930 - "ENDED_SKIPPED - Skipped because of WHEN clause." The Execute dialog (see below) is ignored when the task itself is inactive. Block The workflow blocks at the preceding task. This does not apply to tasks that run parallel within the workflow, their processing continues. The workflow as a whole is not blocked until all tasks have been executed. If there are no parallel running tasks, the task and the workflow block immediately. Block and send abort signal to parent If there is a superordinate workflow (parent), a signal is sent to it that indicates the abnormal end in addition the regular Block action. If this option is set in a workflow dependency, then processing of the parent remains blocked, even after the child task has been unblocked. Abort The task and the workflow itself are canceled. Action: Optionally, also run another task. If you activate this option, you can select the executable object that should run from the Execute dialog.