The Workflow Validation and Workflow Validation Cancel events are created by the Dayforce workflow engine based on the workflow configuration. The External Validation node must be made available via feature security (described earlier in this guide) for it to appear in Workflow Administration > Workflow Designer.
The External Validation should be used only once in a given workflow configuration, and if any client workflow configurations contain the External Validation node, at least one notification subscriber must have currently-effective subscriptions for both the Workflow Validation and Workflow Validation Cancel events. If the workflow engine is unable to find a subscriber with currently-effective subscriptions to the Workflow Validation and Workflow Validation Cancel events, an error is returned and the transaction processing stops.
The External Validation node is closely related to the Decision node in that it’s designed to allow the client to configure the possible outcomes.
Unlike the Decision node, the External Validation node doesn't require and shouldn't have a preceding Routing node, given that an external system retrieves the data in the workflow transaction and performs automated validation. The External Validation node can have any combination of the following actions:
- Approve
- Approve with Warnings
- Reject
- Timeout
The actions (Message Responses) attached to the External Validation node determine the actions that are available in the Put Workflow Validation Action operation.
The workflow configuration should be set up so that, when a transaction is rejected, it's directed to a user who understands the message provided by the external application and can take the appropriate action.
Workflow configurations can be designed so that process directs the transaction to the External Validation node multiple times. As an example, a transaction flows to the External Validation node where it's rejected, a client administrator then resubmits the transaction and as a result, the transaction arrives at the External Validation node a second time. Each time a transaction arrives at the External Validation node, a new Workflow Validation event is created so the external application knows it can retrieve the most recent data.