Lifecycle rule processing

Lifecycle rule operations can take an extended period to finish for the entire result set returned from the evaluation of the lifecycle rule filter.

Completion is primarily due to the time it takes to complete manual workflow activities associated with the operation. A lifecycle rule evaluation might be scheduled or manually initiated to run again before operations that result from the first lifecycle rule evaluation are completed for all targets. The second iteration of the lifecycle rule evaluation identifies those targets that remain in a working state from the original evaluation. The second iteration does not initiate the lifecycle operation again for those targets. It will, however, initiate for any targets it identifies during the lifecycle rule evaluation period that are not in a working state.

For example, a lifecycle rule might discover 100 entities that match its criteria. The rule proceeds to initiate the operation associated with the rule for those 100 entities. Assume that 10 entities are added to the system. Addition occurs after the initial lifecycle evaluation and while the lifecycle rule operation is being applied to the original 100 entities. A second iteration of the lifecycle rule might be initiated before the first iteration is complete. The second iteration skips over any entities that have the operation of the lifecycle rule initiated from the first iteration. The second iteration skips entities until it discovers an entity that matches the lifecycle rule filter evaluation but does not currently have this lifecycle rule (matches on rule name) running against it. In this case, the second iteration discovers and initiates for the 10 new entities that were added.. This behavior is important to understand because there might be occasions where the second iteration of a lifecycle rule might complete before the first iteration. Theoretically, the lifecycle rule evaluation you schedule for 10:00 AM might complete before the lifecycle rule evaluation scheduled for 9:00 AM. Do not assume that a lifecycle rule operation is complete for all relevant targets based upon the completion of a subsequent iteration of the same lifecycle rule. To verify which request items are complete and which items are disregarded, check the audit log of the completed request.

Parent topic: Lifecycle rules management