"Back" outcome for user task with no form validation

[gmalanga]

Hi,

I am using Activiti version 1.6.2 and I have a simple process for approving expenses (see attached ZIP file). The workflow has:

• an "Expenses type" user task, with a form definition associated which includes mandatory fields
• an "Expenses amount" user task, with a form definition associated which includes mandatory fields
• an "Expenses approval" user task, with a form definition associated 

I would like to have a "Back" outcome for the "Expenses amount" which does not take the form validation for the mandatory field and allows the user to go back to the previous task without typing the amount.

I can't change the workflow process, neither the form definitions; this is a strictly requirement. 

Any idea how to achieve this?

[ryandawson]

Logically (though possibly not practically in your case) the only things that could be changed to achieve this would be:

Process definition

Form definition

Process implementation (service tasks, listeners etc.)

UI

Maybe you could do something at the UI layer by trying to put together your own stencil (https://community.alfresco.com/community/bpm/blog/2016/08/31/form-stencils-101 ) that can perform a back action. I can't think of anything out of the box to do that.

My personal feeling from a quick reading is that going back to a previous task is part of the business logic so it would be better to capture that in the process definition. I know you said there's a strict requirement to not change the process definition but it seems to me that having the option to go back is part of the process so it's more typical to model that explicitly (see https://community.alfresco.com/thread/235681-activiti-is-ineffective-in-china-and-hopes-to-attract-o... )

It might be possible to make the process jump backwards to a different point at the implementation level like in Activiti User Guide  . But it's made a bit more difficult for you that you want to do this from a form. I'm not sure what hook you'd be able to use to initiate the backward movement. Maybe you'd have to create one via a stencil.