Workflow Step Lacks Required Conditions

What This Looks Like

A workflow step runs even though the conditions required for that step are not declared, checked, or satisfied. The AI or workflow may approve, reject, route, escalate, summarize, call a tool, or continue to the next stage without confirming that the necessary inputs, state, permissions, evidence, or prerequisites are present.

Why It Matters

Workflow steps need entry conditions. If a step can run without them, the result may look valid while being based on incomplete state. This can create skipped checks, premature decisions, wrong handoffs, or downstream failures that are hard to trace back to the missing condition.

Structural Signal

A workflow node exists, but its required conditions are missing or underdeclared. The issue is not simply that a step failed; it is that the workflow does not define enough structure to know when the step is allowed to run.

Common Triggers

• The workflow names a step but not its prerequisites
• Required inputs are assumed instead of checked
• The AI is allowed to proceed when evidence is incomplete
• A tool or review step has hidden conditions not reflected in the prompt
• The workflow treats optional context as sufficient
• Handoff criteria are described informally instead of enforced

When to Use This Issue

Use this Issue when a workflow step can proceed without required conditions being declared, checked, or satisfied.

When Not to Use This Issue

Do not use this Issue when the conditions are declared and the AI simply ignores them. Do not use it when the problem is a missing decision owner rather than missing step conditions.