Error "Status change from READY to COMMITTED is not allowed"

Question

Dear experts,
once again SAPs workflow environment drives me crazy with mysterious error messages.
Some time ago I posted a question here concerning the problem that I cannot put back a workitem by using function module SAP_WAPI_PUT_BACK_WORKITEM due to a lock on this workitem which has been set right after it has been double clicked in the business workplace workflow inbox:
[How can I put back a workitem before I'm back in the business workplace?;
Since I do not want to dequeue the lock for the workitem in my application (where the user finds the appropriate detail information along with the function buttons for approval, rejection and F3/BACK) I tried it with calling a POPUP_TO_CONFIRM ("Do you want to put back the workitem?") directly from within the BO-method, right after returning from the FM that called my application. From here (the popup then shows in front of the business workplace instead of the application) the locking doesn't seem to be a problem any more! But whatever I do after the users decision to put the WI back - calling the FM SAP_WAPI_PUT_BACK_WORKITEM or trying to leave the method with macro EXIT_CANCELLED - leads to the error message "Status change from READY to COMMITTED is not allowed" and the workitem changes to status ERROR, too. This message seems to be bull***t, since the status of the item is supposed to go back to READY.
Does anybody have experience to help me on that ?
Thanks in advance
regards
Andreas

Answer 1

Hello Andreas,
Ah, sorry, there was so much talk about user decisions that I assumed you were using a standard decision task.
Still, I would be extra careful of changing the way workflow usually works because you have an unknown target audience that are based on the standard.
The standard SAP philosophy is quite simple: cancel/F3 or do nothing and it stays reserved. If you do not want it reserved, you need to perform an action. This is based on a majority of processes: in most cases when you execute a work item you will also be the one who is going to completed it. Replacing it is the lesser used of the two alternatives, therefore it is the only one that requires an action on the part of the user.
Again, this is intended as constructive input. Strange quirks and unusual behaviour tend to add a black mark to software if they do not make things easier to use. In many environments users are not even aware of the reserve/replace business, so there you would be adding an additional layer of complexity.
Personally I would find an exit popup annoying as a regular workflow user - regular decisions can be approved with one click, or I can back out with a single click if I need to make a phone call or look up some info before approving - but with this new-fangled thing I've got an extra button to click and an extra thing to think about. This is especially the case in a payment approval scenario where you may have users in some departments who may approve hundreds of payments each week.
My suggestion would be to leave it like that. By all means put an option into the user decision to put it back or to 'un-reserve' it (and loop round if the user chooses it). That way you are adding value and not clicks.
Cheers,
Mike