Java APIs that take variables behave slightly different depending on whether the supplied value is a TypedValue or not (see https://app.camunda.com/jira/browse/SUPPORT-3207?focusedCommentId=68133&page=com.atlassian.jira.plugin.system.issuetabpanels:comment-tabpanel#comment-68133).
AT:
- make sure this behavior is documented in the user guide
- for the major variable modification APIs (perhaps RuntimeService, DelegateExecution, DelegateTask), add an explanation to the Javadoc