Overview
On rare occasions, you or a team member may receive an email notification that an automated workflow was inactivated due to an activity loop. You can reactivate the workflow but if the loop is not fixed, it will be inactivated again when the next loop is detected. In this article, we’ll tell you what a workflow activity loop is, and how to find and fix it.
IN THIS ARTICLE
What is a workflow activity loop?
How to find a workflow activity loop
How to fix a workflow activity loop
What is a workflow activity loop?
A workflow activity loop is a sequence of events in Automated Workflow that creates redundant activities non-stop. A loop typically occurs when a workflow has little or no criteria telling it exactly when to create and assign activities.
Workflow activity loops typically occur when:
- One workflow has a combination of triggers, criteria, and actions that cause it to create redundant activities non-stop over a short period of time.
- Two or more workflows have triggers, criteria, and actions that react to each other and create redundant activities non-stop over a short period of time.
One workflow
This loop occurs when a single workflow is set up with a trigger and action(s) that trigger itself, causing it to create and assign activities non-stop.
Example:
- Trigger: When an agent’s activity’s status updates to “In Progress”
- Action: Create an agent activity 0 days after trigger and set the activity’s status to “In Progress"
Two or more workflows
This loop occurs when two or more workflows are set up with triggers and actions that trigger each other, causing them to create and assign activities non-stop
Example:
Workflow 1
- Trigger: When an agent’s activity’s status updates to “In Progress”
- Action: Create an agent activity 0 days after trigger and set the activity’s type to “Prospecting”
Workflow 2
- Trigger: When an agent’s activity’s type updates to “Prospecting”
- Action: Create an agent activity 0 days after trigger and set the activity’s status to “In Progress”
How to find a workflow activity loop
When a workflow activity loop is detected, AgencyBloc will send an email notification to the email address supplied in the Profile & Settings > Settings > Email Marketing & Workflow > Email Notifications section. Please note, you need administrator permissions to access this area of AgencyBloc.
The email notification will include links to the record (agent, group, individual) that triggered the workflow, and the workflow’s timeline.
Reviewing the workflow timeline and the record side-by-side can help you identify and confirm the affected workflow. With this information, you can fix the loop.
How to fix a workflow activity loop
Make the action different than the trigger
The quickest way is to change the action's activity status or type conditions so they are different than the workflow’s “Trigger when...” condition.
Make the triggering activity more unique
If changing the action conditions is not ideal, you might consider updating the workflow’s “And Meet the Criteria”. Set criteria to develop uniqueness between the activities that trigger the workflow and the activities that are created as a result of the triggered workflow.
You can use Activity Status, Activity Type, Activity Priority, Activity Follow-Up User and Activity Follow-Up Team in the “And Meet the Criteria” section to do this.
Once you’ve broken the loop, you can Save & Activate the workflow.
