Ok, here you are the core problem. 

The page. I have two required "input text". 
A command button that changes the bean value and reRenderes the "job" object. 

```
<a4j:form id="pervForm">  
    SURNAME:<h:inputText id="surname" label="Surname" value="#{prevManager.surname}" required="true" />  
    <br/>               
    JOB:<h:inputText  value="#{prevManager.job}"  id="job"  maxlength="10" size="10"  label="#{msg.common_label_job}" required="true" />  
    <br/>  

    <a4j:commandButton value="Set job to Programmer" ajaxSingle="true" reRender="job">  
        <a4j:actionparam name="jVal" value="Programmer" assignTo="#{prevManager.job}"/>  
    </a4j:commandButton>  

    <h:commandButton id="save" value="save"  action="save" class="HATSBUTTON"/>  

</a4j:form>  

```

Here the simple manager: 

```
public class PrevManager   
{  

    private String surname;  
    private String job;  

    public String getSurname()  
    {  
        return surname;  
    }  

    public void setSurname(String surname)  
    {  
        this.surname = surname;  
    }  

    public String getJob()  
    {  
        return job;  
    }  

    public void setJob(String job)  
    {  
        this.job = job;  
    }  

    public String save()  
    {  
        //do something  
    }  

}  

```

Let's do this: 

Write something on the Job input text (such as "teacher"). 
Leave empty the surname. 
Save. 
Validation error appears (surname is mandatory). 
Press "Set job to Programmer": nothing happens. 

Checking the bean value, I discovered that it is correctly updated, indeed the component on the page is not updated! 

Well, according to the JBoss Docs I found: 

> 
> Ajax region is a key ajax component.
>  It limits the part of the component
>  tree to be processed on the server
>  side when ajax request comes.
>  Processing means invocation during
>  Decode, Validation and Model Update
>  phase. Most common reasons to use a
>  region are: 
> 
> 
> -avoiding the aborting of the JSF lifecycle processing during the
>  validation of other form input
>  unnecessary for given ajax request; 
>  -defining the different strategies when events will be delivered
>  (immediate="true/false") 
>  -showing an individual indicator of an ajax status 
>  -increasing the performance of the rendering processing
>  (selfRendered="true/false",
>  renderRegionOnly="true/false") 
> 
> 
> The following two examples show the
>  situation when a validation error does
>  not allow to process an ajax input.
>  Type the name. The outputText
>  component should reappear after you.
>  However, in the first case, this
>  activity will be aborted because of
>  the other field with required="true".
>  You will see only the error message
>  while the "Job" field is empty.
> 
> 
> 

Here you are the example: 

```
<ui:composition xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"  
      xmlns:ui="http://java.sun.com/jsf/facelets"  
      xmlns:h="http://java.sun.com/jsf/html"  
      xmlns:f="http://java.sun.com/jsf/core"  
      xmlns:a4j="http://richfaces.org/a4j"  
      xmlns:rich="http://richfaces.org/rich">  

        <style>  
            .outergridvalidationcolumn {  
                padding: 0px 30px 10px 0px;  
            }  
        </style>  

    <a4j:outputPanel ajaxRendered="true">  
        <h:messages style="color:red" />  
    </a4j:outputPanel>  
    <h:panelGrid columns="2" columnClasses="outergridvalidationcolumn">  

        <h:form id="form1">  
                <h:panelGrid columns="2">  
                    <h:outputText value="Name" />  
                    <h:inputText value="#{userBean.name}">  
                        <a4j:support event="onkeyup" reRender="outname" />  
                    </h:inputText>  
                    <h:outputText value="Job" />  
                    <h:inputText  required="true" id="job2" value="#{userBean.job}" />  
                </h:panelGrid>  
        </h:form>  

        <h:form id="form2">  
            <h:panelGrid columns="2">  
                <h:outputText value="Name" />  
                <a4j:region>  
                    <h:inputText value="#{userBean.name}">  
                        <a4j:support event="onkeyup" reRender="outname" />  
                    </h:inputText>  
                </a4j:region>  
                <h:outputText value="Job" />  
                <h:inputText   required="true"  id="job1"  value="#{userBean.job}" />  
            </h:panelGrid>  
        </h:form>  

    </h:panelGrid>  
    <h:outputText id="outname" style="font-weight:bold" value="Typed Name: #{userBean.name}" />  
    <br />  
</ui:composition>  

```

Form1: the behaviour is incorrect. I need to fill the job and then the name. 
Form2: the behaviour is correct. I do not need to fill the job to see the correct value. 

Unfortunately using Ajax region does not help (indeed I used it in a bad way ...) because my fields are both REQUIRED. That's the main different. 

Any idea? 

Many thanks.