Conditions:

• Workflow is configured to modify data on items in a List or Library.
  • Actions that modify data include Update Item, Update Multiple Items, and Set Field Value.
• Workflow is running properly, however, it eventually fails.
  • For example, the error may state: 'The workflow could not update the item, possibly because one or more columns for the item require a different type of information'

Solution:

Add a 'Commit Pending Changes' action after any workflow action that sets or updates values on your SharePoint item(s).

Additional Information

The most common cause of this type of failure is a conflict when the update is being committed. When workflows are modifying items the value may change immediately but the update is not committed until the workflow temporarily stops (Pause For..., Flexi Task, etc.) or the workflow completes. If any item that is updated is altered by another user or workflow in the time between the value change and the commit, the workflow will fail. Strategically placing 'Commit Pending Changes' actions or Pause actions to 'batch' and commit the changes mitigates the potential for these conflicts to occur.