Workflow validation examines different characteristics of a workflow to locate issues
that might prevent the workflow from being published or cause it to fail. The validation report
summarizes the results of each separate workflow validation.
Validation prevents workflows with critical flaws from executing and resulting in an unstable
or incomplete state. There are a number of validators in the base system that notify workflow
designers of potential problems. For example, multiple End activities,
disconnected transitions, incorrect table references, missing subflows, and dependencies affected
by update sets. A workflow validation report displays the results from each validator, including
a message explaining what was found. The system automatically validates a workflow when you
publish it. You can also run validation on a workflow directly from controls in the Workflow
Editor.
Highlighting critical errors
The graphical Workflow Editor highlights critical errors when a workflow is loaded. In this
example, a subflow is missing and is not available to the parent workflow for the current user.
The graphical Workflow Editor indicates the error when the parent workflow loads by highlighting
(in red) the activity that calls the subflow. To correct the error in the parent workflow, click
the validate icon in the header bar and inspect the error description in the validation
report.
Figure 1. Validate missing subflowValidations at publishing
If you attempt to publish an invalid workflow or a workflow with potential problems, the
system displays an error message and blocks the operation, if necessary. When validation error
messages appear, click the validate icon in the graphical Workflow Editor to see the error
report.
Validation warning
A validation warning notifies you that a potential problem exists in a workflow but permits
you to publish the workflow. Validation warnings appear when:
You edit and then attempt to publish a workflow that is included as a subflow in another
workflow. The system cannot determine how your changes will affect the parent workflow and
alerts you of the relationship.
A workflow activity uses a different table than the table assigned to the workflow. The
system alerts you of the potential conflict.
Figure 2. Validation warning
Validation failure
A validation failure notifies you that a critical error has occurred in the workflow that
prevents you from publishing the workflow. An example of a critical error is a missing
subflow.Figure 3. Validation failure
Workflow validation report
Validators display three notification levels: CRITICAL, WARN, and INFO. The designer can
publish a workflow that returns WARN or INFO level validation, but not a workflow that returns
an overall validation level of CRITICAL.
Figure 4. Workflow validation report
Header summary
The header of the validation report summarizes the entire validation run against the
specified workflow.
Validate Summary: The overall score reflects the most severe
notification level encountered during the validation.Total checks performed: The total number of validations run is
also broken down to show the number at each notification level.
Report columns
The body of the report displays the results of each individual validation check that was
performed. The columns are Type , Level , and
Message . You can sort and filter these columns as you would any
list.Table 1. Workflow termination and external dependencies levels
Name
Implication
Info
Provides information about the current workflow version. An example of an
information level message is one that names the lowest common table in the workflow.
Workflows at this validation level are considered valid and publishable.
Warning
Alerts the user that the validator detected anomalies in the workflow that might
compromise its ability to execute. An example of a warning level message is one that
alerts you to a missing activity input transition. Workflows at this validation level are
considered valid and publishable.
Critical
Names a workflow element containing a critical error that prevents the workflow
from executing successfully. Examples of this are missing or invalid subflows and missing
transitions. Workflows at this validation level cannot be published or run in
production.
Message
The validation message provides a detailed description of the results, including table
names, update sets, and other specifics.
For the procedure to validate a workflow and generate a validation report, see Validate a workflow
