...
Scope of Use
Please note that workflow variables and workflow every hash variable has its scope of use. This dictates where the hash variable can be used. Workflow variable hash variable(#variable.variableName#) are , can only available to be used by elements within and part of a Process.
Additionally, these values are being parsed on the server side, not the client side. If there is a need to parse it, you will need to use workflowutil.processVariable method to do so.
Update Mechanisms
...