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Workflow Technical Limitations

Summary​

Workflow provides a functional approval foundation with material architecture, execution, state, authorization, validation, compatibility, integration and testing gaps.

Architecture​

  • No standalone engine, executor registry, state-machine framework or mediator pipeline.
  • Queries directly depend on the DbContext.
  • No Gateway Workflow route was found.

Execution​

  • Notification step type and stored mode lack distinct execution semantics.
  • No asynchronous business executor, timeout, escalation, cancellation, retry or compensation.
  • Conditions provide equality/inequality only and skipped stages leave no record.

State management​

  • Several enum states/actions have no implemented transition.
  • Rejection leaves sibling stage tasks Pending.
  • No explicit concurrency token or simultaneous-decision strategy.

Authorization​

  • Endpoint policy catalog is empty and endpoints do not require authorization.
  • Decisions do not enforce task assignment.
  • Tenant request metadata is accepted independently of authenticated identity.

Validation​

  • No validator framework or dedicated validator classes.
  • Limited step-order, condition, assignment and operator validation.
  • Persistence failures lack Workflow-specific normalization.

Compatibility​

  • Identity/tenant aliases and legacy timestamp behavior have no documented retirement mechanism.
  • Effective portal-to-service routing requires confirmation.

Integration​

  • Outbox publication is implemented, but no verified terminal-event consumer or callback dispatcher completes source-module records.
  • No Workflow notification mapping was found.

Testing​

  • One API smoke script exists.
  • No Workflow unit or isolated integration test project was found.

Requires Confirmation​

Security remediation, concurrency semantics, gateway ownership, event consumers, callback handling, retention, operational objectives and test roadmap require confirmation.

Source References​

  • microservices/src/workflow-service/Application/Commands/WorkflowInstanceCommands.cs
  • microservices/src/workflow-service/Domain/Common/Enums.cs
  • microservices/src/workflow-service/Api/Policies.cs
  • microservices/src/workflow-service/Infrastructure/WorkflowDbContext.cs
  • microservices/scripts/smoke-workflow.ps1

See Also​

Keywords​

Workflow architecture, approval engine, Workflow Service, technical foundation.

Revision Information​

  • Status: Draft
  • Last reviewed: 2026-07-20
  • Next review: 2026-10-20