A stalled-onboarding workflow begins when an implementation cannot take its next agreed step. It ends when a named participant accepts the recovery action or the project receives an explicit pause or stop decision. Another reminder is not necessarily progress.
The software should expose the dependency and next owner. It should not convert an overdue date into a claim that a customer will churn or that an escalation automatically resolves the problem.
Classify the missing decision
Distinguish a missing customer input, unavailable delivery capacity, a technical dependency and an unresolved scope decision. Each has a different next owner. A single red status can alert a manager but does not explain what action is needed.
| Blocker | Handoff owner | Record needed |
|---|---|---|
| Customer input outstanding | Customer contact and coordinator | Named input and intended use |
| Delivery capacity unresolved | Delivery manager | Required work and current commitment |
| Technical dependency | Relevant technical owner | Issue reference and blocked step |
| Scope decision missing | Authorized project owner | Question and decision boundary |
This is a proposed operating classification. Let the team adapt it to the actual implementation rather than treating it as a product’s built-in taxonomy.
Project visibility as a candidate capability
Rocketlane documents a project overview with project status and at-risk task context, and shared or private project updates. It is a candidate for representing blocker context where the implementation record already lives there.
Ask to see how your chosen classification and next owner appear in the proposed configuration. A status field or update does not establish automated escalation. Confirm the trigger, recipient and result of any configured notification separately.
The current project manager and a controlled blocker register may be enough. Add workflow software only where the team cannot maintain the classification, responsibility and handoff together. Buying another dashboard without a recovery owner leaves the underlying decision unchanged.
Evaluate a blocker that changes category
Use a synthetic project waiting on a customer file. Receive the file but discover that a delivery decision is now missing. Ask the coordinator to close the original follow-up and assign the new dependency without presenting the project as recovered.
Include a customer-facing update. Inspect which internal context is shared and whether the message accurately identifies the next action. Do not assume a private update and a customer message expose the same information.
Close the escalation deliberately
The receiving owner should accept responsibility or return the issue with a reason. Once work resumes, retain the resolution context and remove obsolete reminders. If the project is paused, define who owns its next review.
Customer document collection covers one common dependency. Browse the Customer Onboarding hub for the earlier readiness and later acceptance decisions.