Warn when steps are completed out of order
People do not always work through a run top to bottom. Sometimes that is fine, and sometimes a step completed early means a check was skipped. The Step Order setting lets a workflow point that out without getting in the way: when someone completes a step while an earlier step is still open, the run shows a warning naming the open steps. Nothing is blocked, and the step stays completed.
Turn it on
- Open the workflow in the editor and click Settings.
- Under Run behavior, tick Warn when a step is completed while an earlier step is still open.
- Click Update.
The setting is read from the workflow each time a step is completed, so it applies to runs already in progress as well as new ones. Turning it off stops the warning everywhere at once.
What people see
When a step is completed out of order, a red alert appears at the top of the run: An earlier step is still open, or Earlier steps are still open, followed by a list of those steps. Each one is a link that jumps to the step, so the person can go back and finish it. The alert can be dismissed, and it is replaced the next time a step is completed out of order.
"Earlier" means any step above the completed one in the run, in any section, that is still open. Section headings and steps that have been skipped or are not applicable are not counted.
If the workflow also hides unassigned steps from limited, member and guest participants, those participants do not see the warning, because it would list steps they cannot see. Admins and users always see it.
When to use it
Use Step Order for workflows where the sequence usually matters but exceptions are legitimate: a review that normally follows data entry, a sign-off that normally follows a walkthrough. The person completing the step keeps the final say.
If an earlier step must be finished before later steps can be touched at all, use a Stop Task instead. A stop task holds the steps after it until it is completed; Step Order only warns.