Approval workflow for requirements gets stuck at manager level

ALM Siemens Polarion ALM
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1

We’re experiencing a critical issue where our requirements approval workflow consistently hangs at the manager approval stage. The workflow transitions work fine for initial reviewer approval, but when it reaches the manager role, the approval action becomes unresponsive.

I’ve checked the workflow configuration and role permissions appear correct. The LiveDoc shows the requirement in “Pending Manager Approval” state, but clicking the approval button does nothing - no error, no state change.

This is blocking our sprint releases as we have 23 requirements stuck in this state. Has anyone encountered workflow transitions getting stuck at specific role levels? We’re running Polarion ALM 2406 and this started happening after our last project configuration update.

2

I’ve seen similar behavior with workflow transitions. First thing to check - are there any LiveDoc locks on those requirements? Sometimes a user has the document open in edit mode and that can prevent workflow actions from completing. Check Administration > Documents > Locked Documents to see if any of your stuck requirements are locked.

3

Based on the symptoms you’re describing - especially the timing after a project configuration update - this is almost certainly a workflow configuration issue. Here’s a comprehensive solution addressing all the key areas:

Workflow Transitions: First, export your workflow XML and verify the complete transition definition. The snippet you showed is incomplete - you need to check for conditions, validators, and post-functions:

<transition id="approve_transition" from="pending_manager" to="approved">
  <conditions>
    <condition class="com.polarion.workflow.CustomCondition"/>
  </conditions>
  <validators>
    <validator class="com.polarion.workflow.FieldValidator"/>
  </validators>
</transition>

Any condition or validator that fails will silently block the transition.

Role Permissions: Verify in Administration > Roles that the manager role has these permissions:

  • Can modify work items in this status
  • Can perform workflow actions
  • Can edit LiveDoc sections

Also check Project Properties > Permissions to ensure managers aren’t restricted at the project level.

LiveDoc Locking: For the 5 locked documents, you have two options:

  1. Contact the users to close their LiveDocs
  2. Use Admin override: Administration > Documents > Locked Documents > Select items > Force Unlock

Be cautious with force unlock as it may cause users to lose unsaved changes.

Admin Override for Stuck Items: For the 18 non-locked requirements, you can manually transition them:

  1. Navigate to Administration > Work Items
  2. Select the stuck requirements
  3. Use Bulk Edit > Change Status > Select “approved”
  4. This bypasses the workflow and forces the status change

Root Cause Investigation: Check your Polarion logs immediately after attempting an approval:


tail -f /opt/polarion/data/logs/polarion.log | grep -i workflow

Look for validation errors, permission denials, or custom function failures.

Configuration Comparison: Since this started after a project config update, use Administration > Project Configuration > Compare to review what changed. Focus on:

  • Custom field definitions referenced in workflow conditions
  • Workflow XML modifications
  • Role assignment changes

Most likely, your workflow has a condition checking a custom field that was modified in the config update, causing silent validation failures. Identify and update the condition to match the new field configuration.

After fixing the root cause, test with a single requirement before processing all stuck items in bulk.

4

I experienced this exact issue after a project configuration update. The problem was that our workflow had a condition checking for specific custom field values, and the configuration change modified the field’s allowed values. The workflow transition was failing silently because the condition couldn’t be evaluated. Check if your recent config update changed any custom fields that your workflow conditions depend on.

5

Sarah, check if you have any custom workflow functions or validators attached to that transition. Silent failures often happen when a validator or function throws an exception that’s not being caught properly. Look in your Polarion logs (polarion.log) around the time when approval actions are attempted. Search for exceptions or workflow-related errors that might explain why the transition isn’t completing.

6

Thanks for the suggestions. I checked and found 5 requirements with LiveDoc locks, but the other 18 are not locked. The role permissions in the workflow XML look correct to me. Here’s the relevant section:

<action id="approve" targetStatus="approved">
  <role id="manager" canPerform="true"/>
</action>

Could this be related to workflow transition conditions or validators that aren’t showing errors?