Sourcecode.Workflow.Management API

I would suggest using the event wizard to help configure the escalation - you can always modify the code of the escalation to prevent it from running after your 'expire' conditions are met.  I can give you some more details if you like, it just crossed my mind real quick as one way to attack your problem.

It's a good idea but wouldn't the process instance stay active until that escalation has expired? If the escalation deadline is 2 months away then I would want the process to show completed when appropriate.

Details are always good though :)

Ah, gotcha.  That option is available through the escalation wizard as well, just select the 'Expire Activity' option in the Action Template.  No code necessary.  Let me know if I am being too vague, I can get you some better steps if you need it.

I've seen that option but I guess I wasn't sure how that worked. So once the process is finish then this option will expire itself?

My other problem is that I have child processes started by an IPC call. I need to move these processes to a given activity to allow them to gracefully expire if the escalation is triggered.

All it means is that when your escalation rule becomes true, the event associated with that escalation ends (as opposed to redirecting to another user or sending an e-mail or whatever).  It does not have to wait for the entire process to complete. 

I would give each of these child activities the same escalation rule, so they all will expire at the same time.  Is it a very complex escalation rule?

The rule just sets the escalation date from the value of a datafield... then one of two things can happen.

Either the process can finish, in which case I want the escalation to expire at that point so I can finish the whole workflow.

Or the escalation date arrives in which case the escalation needs to expire some child processes and then move the main process to a new activity. The child processes are all meant to expire at the same time if the main process ecalation triggers.

 Sounds so simple eh?