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Lifecycle Management

Lifecycle management governs how a record progresses from creation through archive. Stage gates ensure quality and compliance at every step.

Who this is for

Admin Executive Analyst

Prerequisites

Lifecycle stages

Stage Status range Purpose Gate
Inception draft Capture the idea Required fields complete
Review in_review Validate approach Approval workflow complete
Commitment approved Allocate resources Budget and stakeholder sign-off
Execution active Deliver outcomes Milestones tracked
Closure completed Validate value Evidence uploaded and actuals captured
Retention archived Audit and reference Retention period defined

Stage gates

Stage gates are mandatory checks that block progression until satisfied.

Default gates

  • Inception gate: Title, description, and at least one value metric.
  • Review gate: All approval stages passed with no active rejections.
  • Commitment gate: Budget field populated and stakeholder mapping complete.
  • Execution gate: Start date is today or earlier; owner assigned.
  • Closure gate: Actual benefit values entered and linked to evidence.
  • Retention gate: Retention category selected (regulatory, contractual, standard).

Custom gates

You can add custom gates tied to fields, formulas, or external data.

  1. Open Admin > Configuration > Workflows.
  2. Select a workflow and click Stage Gates.
  3. Click Add Gate.
  4. Choose a gate type: Field, Formula, Integration, or Approval.
  5. Define the pass condition and error message.
  6. Click Save and Publish.

Gate evaluation behavior

Gate type Evaluation timing Failure action
Field On transition attempt Block transition, show error
Formula On transition attempt Block transition, show error
Integration Async, before transition Block transition, queue retry
Approval During approval stage Return to rejected or stay in_review

Retention policies

Retention policies control how long records remain in completed before automatic archiving.

Retention category Default duration Action at expiry
Standard 12 months Auto-archive to archived
Contractual 84 months (7 years) Auto-archive to archived
Regulatory Configurable per jurisdiction Hold until policy date; then archive

Regulatory holds

Records under regulatory hold cannot be manually deleted. Adjust the hold date before attempting removal.

Step-by-step: configure a retention policy

  1. Go to Admin > Configuration > Workflows.
  2. Open the entity workflow (Initiative or Business Case).
  3. Click the Retention tab.
  4. Select a Default retention category.
  5. Set Auto-archive to Enabled or Disabled.
  6. Click Save and Publish.

Permissions required

Role Permission Scope
Super Admin Configure stage gates and retention Organization
Tenant Admin Configure stage gates and retention Organization
Content Admin Edit gate messages and retention labels Organization
Analyst View gate status on own records Own records
Viewer View gate status Assigned records

Limits and guardrails

Limit Maximum 10 custom stage gates per workflow.

Limit Retention duration cannot exceed 255 months.

Limit Records in archived status are read-only. Edit requires temporary reactivation by an Admin.

Limit Integration gates timeout after 30 seconds and fail closed.

Troubleshooting

Issue: record stuck at a stage gate

Cause: A required field is empty, a formula evaluates to false, or an integration check is failing. Resolution: Open the record detail panel. Review the Gate Status section for the specific failure and remediation steps.

Issue: record archived too early

Cause: The retention policy was set to a short duration, or a bulk automation rule triggered archive. Resolution: Admins can reactivate a record from Admin > Records > Reactivate. Update the retention policy to prevent recurrence.

Issue: integration gate keeps failing

Cause: The external service is unavailable, or the integration credential expired. Resolution: Check the integration health in Configuration > Integrations. Reauthorize the connection if the token is expired.

Escalation path

For stage gate or retention policy misconfiguration:

  1. Verify the workflow version in Configuration > Workflows > Versions.
  2. Roll back to the previous version if the issue is blocking.
  3. Contact support with the workflow ID and affected record IDs.
  4. Escalate to #valuepact-ops if rollback does not resolve the issue.