Workflow Versions
Summary
Every definition begins with version 1. A published version is immutable; editing steps after publication creates a fresh draft version.
Business Purpose
Preserve the approval design used by running instances while allowing later changes.
Actors
Workflow authors, approvers, delegates, process initiators, tenant administrators, product owners, support teams and owners of connected business modules.
Business Flow
Authors edit the current unpublished version. If no draft exists, a step update creates the next numbered draft. Publication records its timestamp and promotes its number as the definition's published version.
Responsibilities
Authors maintain valid draft steps before publication. Initiating modules supply a subject and routing context. Approvers act only on applicable pending tasks. Tenant and service owners govern access, integration enablement and operational support.
Business Rules
Definition/version number is unique. Published steps cannot be replaced. Instances store the exact published version identifier.
Integrations
Workflow Service owns definitions, versions, instances and tasks. Connected modules can synchronously start and read instances when their integration is enabled; lifecycle domain events are persisted to an outbox and relayed as integration events.
Limitations
Descriptive definition fields can be updated without creating a new version. There is no version comparison, rollback, scheduled activation, retirement or explicit superseded state.
Requires Confirmation
Production enablement, approver-role naming, upstream access enforcement, terminal decision propagation, notification ownership, retention and operating procedures require confirmation.
Source References
microservices/src/workflow-service/Domain/Workflow/WorkflowDefinition.csmicroservices/src/workflow-service/Infrastructure/WorkflowDbContext.csmicroservices/src/workflow-service/Application/Mappings.cs
Related Articles
See Also
Keywords
Workflow, approval, definition, version, task, delegation.
Revision Information
Draft source-backed business documentation reviewed on 2026-07-20; next quarterly review is 2026-10-20.