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Workflow Statuses

Statuses represent the current state of a record. ValuePact uses a canonical set of statuses with configurable transitions so you can model your governance process precisely.

Who this is for

Admin Analyst End User

Prerequisites

Canonical statuses

Status Meaning Typical entry trigger
draft Record is being prepared Manual creation
in_review Under evaluation by approvers User submission or automation
approved Evaluation passed; ready to activate Final approval stage complete
rejected Evaluation failed; returned for revision Approver rejection or guardrail failure
active Work is underway Activation by owner or automation
completed Outcomes achieved and validated User closure or milestone completion
archived Retained for audit; read-only Retention policy or manual archive

Status transitions

Transitions define valid movement between statuses. Each transition can be automatic or manual.

Manual transitions

Manual transitions require a user with the correct role to click a button or call an API.

From To Who can trigger Required fields
draft in_review Record owner, Analyst Title, description, value metric
in_review approved Approver with approve permission All approval stage gates passed
in_review rejected Approver with reject permission Rejection reason
rejected draft Record owner Updated fields addressing rejection
approved active Record owner, Admin Start date, budget allocation
active completed Record owner, Admin Actuals captured, evidence attached
completed archived Admin, automation Retention period elapsed

Automatic transitions

Automatic transitions fire when conditions are met without user action.

From To Trigger condition
draft in_review All required fields populated and auto-submit enabled
approved active Scheduled activation date reached
active completed All milestones marked complete and auto-close enabled
completed archived Retention policy duration exceeded

Auto-submit

Enable auto-submit on the Transitions tab to let drafts move to in_review immediately when mandatory fields are complete.

Transition matrix

draft in_review approved rejected active completed archived
draft — Manual / Auto — — — — —
in_review — — Manual Manual — — —
approved — — — — Manual / Auto — —
rejected Manual — — — — — —
active — — — — — Manual / Auto —
completed — — — — — — Auto
archived — — — — — — —

Step-by-step: add a custom status

  1. Go to Admin > Configuration > Workflows.
  2. Select the workflow and click Edit.
  3. Click Add Status.
  4. Enter a Status Name and API Key. Use snake_case for the key.
  5. Choose a Category: open, pending, closed, or terminal.
  6. Set Color and Icon for visual identification in boards and lists.
  7. Click Save, then Publish.

Permissions required

Role Permission Scope
Super Admin Create, edit, delete statuses Organization
Tenant Admin Create, edit, delete statuses Organization
Content Admin Edit status display properties Organization
Analyst Transition records they own Own records
Editor Transition records in their group Group-assigned records

Limits and guardrails

Limit You cannot delete a status that is in use by active records. Archive it instead.

Limit Status API keys must be unique within a workflow and cannot exceed 40 characters.

Limit A maximum of 20 inbound and 20 outbound transitions per status is enforced.

Limit Terminal statuses cannot have outbound transitions.

Troubleshooting

Issue: status does not appear in the dropdown

Cause: The status is saved but the workflow is not published, or the status category is hidden in the current view filter. Resolution: Publish the workflow. Check the board or list filter settings to ensure the category is visible.

Issue: automatic transition did not fire

Cause: The automation rule is disabled, or a guard condition failed silently. Resolution: Open Automation and verify the rule is active. Review the rule execution log for guard failures.

Issue: record stuck in a loop between two statuses

Cause: Two automatic transitions reference each other without an exit condition. Resolution: Add a condition or manual gate to break the loop. Use the workflow diagram to visualize cycles.

Escalation path

For status-transition logic errors that affect data integrity:

  1. Document the record ID, expected transition, and actual behavior.
  2. File a support ticket with severity Medium.
  3. If multiple tenants are affected, escalate via #valuepact-ops with the incident label.