Some tasks in a process will be optional. 

We could add an "OPT" flag to the Rocbook like this:

<!-- InjectSequence 43,36,76,OPT:84 -->

When rendered, it could be handled like this:

<orderedlist>
 ...previous steps go here...
 <listitem><para><xi:include href="Skynet_System_Messages/Optional.xml"><xref linkend="Some_Task_With_TopicID_84"/></para></listitem>
</orderedlist>

where the en-US Optional.xml contains "<emphasis>Optional: </emphasis>", or something similar - a single root node with the word "Optional: ".

We need to look at how we encapsulate the optional guidance. Whenever a step is optional, guidance must be given as to the circumstances surrounding its optionality.

A task may be optional in a given process, but in many cases the optionality of the task in the process is a function of the relationship of the task to the process, not something intrinsic to the task itself (although in some cases it may be).

In cases where the optionality is not intrinsic to the task, the guidance must be encapsulated in the process (Task Overview) and not in the task itself.

So we may need another Rocbook tag for optional guidance.

One possibility is that the author breaks the sequence manually, writes the optional guidance inline, then indicates to Skynet to continue the sequence.

In this case we can handle it by injecting:

<orderedlist continuation="continues">

This causes the orderedlist to continue numbering from the previous list.