Approval workflow stuck at manager level - process not advancing

We have a purchase order approval workflow that’s getting stuck at the manager approval stage. The process starts fine and reaches the manager task, but after the manager approves, the workflow doesn’t transition to the next stage (director approval). I’ve checked the signal mapping between the approval task and the conditional gateway that follows it, and everything looks correct in the process designer. The task completion event should trigger the transition, but the process just stays at “Manager Approval” status indefinitely.

I suspect there’s an issue with either the process parameter state management or the workflow transition conditions. Has anyone encountered similar issues with approval workflows not advancing after task completion in Creatio 7.18? I need to understand if this is a signal configuration problem or something with how the process parameters are being updated when the task completes.

This sounds like a classic signal timing issue. The gateway might be evaluating before the task completion event fully propagates through the process engine. Try adding a small delay element (even 1 second) between the task and gateway, or better yet, use an intermediate signal catch event instead of having the gateway directly connected. This ensures the process waits for the signal explicitly rather than relying on immediate transition conditions.

Thanks for the quick response. I checked and the “Generate signal” is enabled on the manager approval task. The signal name is “ManagerApprovalComplete” and the gateway is configured to listen for that exact signal. Still not working though. Could this be related to how the process parameters are being set? I’m wondering if the approval status parameter isn’t being updated correctly when the task completes.

I’ve seen this before. First thing to check: are you using the correct signal when the manager completes the approval task? The task completion should emit a signal that the gateway is listening for. Go to your approval task properties and verify the “Generate signal” option is enabled. Also check that the signal parameter name matches exactly what your conditional gateway is expecting. Even a small typo will cause the workflow to halt.

I had this exact problem last month. The issue is usually in the workflow transition conditions and how they interact with task completion event handlers. Here’s what you need to do:

First, verify your signal mapping is truly bidirectional. The approval task must emit the signal AND the gateway must be configured to receive it with matching parameter names.

Second, check your process parameter state management. Add this script task right after the manager approval task:

var approvalStatus = Get<string>("ApprovalStatus");
Set("ApprovalStatus", "ManagerApproved");
Set("LastApprovalDate", DateTime.Now);
return true;

Third, modify your gateway conditions to explicitly check these parameters:

  • Condition 1 (to Director): ApprovalStatus == “ManagerApproved”
  • Default flow (back to Manager): ApprovalStatus != “ManagerApproved”

Fourth, ensure your task completion event handler is configured correctly. In the manager approval task properties, go to the Events tab and add a “Complete” event with this code:

var processEngine = Get<IProcessEngine>("ProcessEngine");
processEngine.SetParameterValue(ProcessInstanceId, "ManagerApprovalComplete", true);

The key issue in Creatio 7.18 is that task completion doesn’t automatically update process parameters unless you explicitly handle it. The signal gets emitted, but if your gateway conditions depend on parameter values that weren’t updated, the transition fails silently. By adding the script task and event handler, you ensure the process state is synchronized before the gateway evaluates.

Also check your workflow transition conditions aren’t using outdated parameter references. If you renamed any parameters during development, old references might still exist in the gateway configuration. Delete and recreate the gateway if needed to ensure clean configuration.

Finally, test with a new process instance after making these changes. Existing stuck instances won’t automatically recover - you’ll need to either manually advance them using the process log or cancel and restart them.

Check your task completion event handlers. In Creatio 7.18, you need to ensure that the task’s “Complete” method is properly updating the process context before emitting the signal. I had a similar issue where the task was marked complete in the UI, but the underlying process instance wasn’t receiving the state change. You might need to add a script task immediately after the approval task to explicitly set the process parameters before the gateway evaluation. Also verify that your gateway conditions are reading the correct parameter path.