How can the lock on a work queue item be released?

The lock on a work queue item is released when it is marked as completed or an exception. This is because in Blue Prism, when a process is working on a queue item, it typically "locks" the item to prevent other instances of the process from working on it simultaneously. Once the process has successfully completed its task on the item, marking it as completed signifies that it has been processed correctly. Conversely, if an error occurs and the item is marked as an exception, it indicates that it cannot be processed as initially intended. In both cases, marking the item appropriately allows the queue to update its status and release the lock, enabling other processes to access the item if necessary.

The other methods mentioned, such as resetting the queue or manual intervention, do not directly align with the automatic and systematic flow that governs how locks are managed in queue processing. Additionally, a timeout period is a broader solution that may not be aligned with the immediate need to release locks upon task completion or exception handling. Therefore, marking the queue item as complete or an exception is the definitive action to release the lock effectively.