When to rebuild a SharePoint Integrated Workflow

  • 16 February 2021
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Issue

Sometimes a SharePoint Integrated Workflow after many Package and Deployments will start to behave erratically. Issues include not being able to Open the workflow to edit, SharePoint References becoming disconnected from the actual Lists or even runtime issues. When a workflow begins seeing more and more issues, it may be time to re-think the solution. 

 

Error Code

There may not be an actual error code, but some of the following issues can occur. Many times the issue is caused by an incorrect Deployment.

 

#1. Workflow or SmartObjects are missing for the K2 for SharePoint Application page.

- The cause of this issue is usually due to K2 for SharePoint artifacts being moved from their original categories. This can be done, but it is highly recommended to leave all SharePoint SmartObjects, Forms and Workflows to stay in the category they were originally created in.

 

#2. Unable to open a workflow due to a 500 internal server error.

- This issue is usually seen after the above occurs. However, it may be useful to try to delete the Design time version and reload the Runtime version. See the following KB on this.

https://community.nintex.com/t5/Technical-Issues/Workflow-Stuck-Loading-at-80/ta-p/123830

 

#3. References that have been working now show a red warning signal and the Workflow cannot be deployed until the references are recreated. 

- This issue is also usually seen after the above errors. Many times recreating these references is the same effort as rebuilding the solution according to Best Practices. 

 

Resolution

If any of the above issues are occurring, rather than troubleshoot workflows that are broken at a deep level, it is best to use this opportunity to rebuild the solution. 

 

#1. Look at any and all SharePoint lists that are connected to the solution. Can any of the SharePoint lists be moved to Smartbox SmartObjects? The less K2 is integrated into SharePoint the faster and easier to Package and Deploy the solution will be. Only integrate with SharePoint lists that will be interacted with by SharePoint users. Do not use SharePoint as a relational Database.

 

#2. If the Workflow is built on the Silverlight or K2 Studio Designer, upgrade to using the HTML5 Designer as this will continue to be supported going forward. It also has all the latest features and development tools for quicker workflow building. 

 

#3. Look for other ways to improve you solution, such as adding or removing rules or Workflow steps. It could also be best to split the workflow into multiple workflows that work together. 

 

Additional Information

Related Links

 

 


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