You are here:
Orchestration Stages
A stage groups related steps, organizing them into a logical phase. Stages run sequentially, and only one stage in an orchestration can be in progress at a time. You configure the conditions that the stage requires before it’s completed.
Required Editions
| View supported editions for Flow Orchestration. |
General
An orchestration requires at least one stage. You can’t control when a stage starts because stages run sequentially. To control when a stage completes, select one of the exit conditions.
Exit Condition
To control when a stage completes, select an exit condition.
| Stage Condition | Requires |
|---|---|
| When all steps have been marked Completed, the stage is marked Completed | — |
| When the specified requirements are met, the stage is marked Completed | Up to 10 requirements that determine whether the stage can be completed |
| When the specified evaluation flow returns True, the stage is marked Completed | The name of the evaluation flow that determines whether the stage can be completed |
Automatic Output
At run time, an orchestration has access to a stage’s status after the stage starts. At design time, however, automatic output resources are always selectable, even before associated orchestration runs have access to the automatic output. So when you create an orchestration, reference automatic output resources only in elements that run after the stage starts.
Fault Path
To define what happens if a stage or a step within a stage in an orchestration encounters an error, use a fault path. Each stage in an orchestration can have its own configured fault path, including stages that are in fault paths.
A fault path can contain decision elements and stage elements. The stage elements in a fault path can contain background and interactive steps.
Add elements to a stage’s fault path that provide an alternate way to complete remaining necessary steps in the attached stage.
When you add a fault path to your orchestration, it’s added with an End element. But the errored orchestration run doesn’t always end in the fault path. You can also connect one or more elements in the fault path to the next relevant element in the orchestration.
Orchestration runs have two valid statuses: Completed or Error.
When a fault path handles an error and completes successfully, the orchestration run status is Completed. However, the step and stage that originally encountered the error remain in Error status.
| Conditions | Orchestration Run Status |
|---|---|
| A stage run with a configured fault path encounters an error. The configured fault path terminates in an end element, and it runs without an error. | Completed |
| A stage run with a configured fault path encounters an error. The configured fault path connects back to the main orchestration flow by using a Go To connector, and no further errors occur. | Completed |
| A stage run with a configured fault path encounters an error. The stage run in the configured fault path then encounters an error, and that stage run has no configured fault path. | Error |
| A stage run with no configured fault path encounters an error. | Error |
Status
When an orchestration is running, it manages the status for each stage. Because stages run sequentially and have no entry conditions, they have a status only after they’re in progress. The orchestration run creates the corresponding orchestration stage run record after the stage is in progress.
| Stage run Status | Description |
|---|---|
| In Progress | The stage was started. |
| Completed |
|
| Suspended | The stage was in-progress when the orchestration was manually suspended. |
| Canceled | The stage was in progress when the orchestration was canceled. |
| Discontinued | The stage was in progress when the orchestration encountered an error. |
| Error |
|
History
In history, an orchestration stage has several possible milestones.
| Stage Milestone | Description |
|---|---|
| Start Stage | The stage started or was resumed when its parent orchestration run was resumed. |
| End Stage |
|
| Suspend Stage | The stage was in progress when its parent orchestration run was manually suspended. |
| Discontinue Stage |
|
| Fail Stage |
|
Flow Orchestration Stage Run Record Ownership
Starting in Winter ’23, the system sets the stage run record's Owner ID field to the automated process user's ID.
