Troubleshooting - Succeeding Rule Error
Logically an Activity completes when all tasks/events associated with the Activity have been completed. However, it is easy to assume that the Succeeding Rule will prevent the Process from continuing.
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Do not rely on the Process to continue because all events have been completed. Plan the process logic carefully and use a combination of Succeeding Rules and Line Rules to cater for all eventualities |
Thus the logic of the Succeeding Rule needs to be interpreted in the context of all completing conditions.
(Activity completes) IF (Defined Succeed Conditions(Activity)=TRUE) OR (All Events Complete(Activity)=TRUE)
Example: Student Admission
Students are admitted to the School of Management based on a Board Review of their application. The approval decision can be either Approved, Declined or Pending.
The Succeeding Rule requires that:
- A minimum of 3 board members Approve the admission
- A minimum of 2 board members Decline the admission
- All the board members must lodge a decision other than Pending for the Approve Application activity to complete
However, the Approve Application activity completes even if a decision of Pending is recorded
Problem:
The All Events Complete criteria of the Succeeding Rule evaluates to TRUE and the Approve Application activity completes, even if some of the board members record the Approval Decision as Pending
Solution:
Option 1: Remove Pending from the options for the Approval Decision
This is a simple solution but may not provide the flexibility required. Be sure to modify the Succeeding Rule.
Option 2: Handle the Pending outcome for the Approval Decision specifically
Understand why the approval decision could be Pending - let us assume that the board feels there is insufficient information in the application. The process could loop back to collect more information. Be sure to check the line rules to cater for all the scenarios.
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Recommended Practice
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