# Workflow Waits on Step That Waits Back

## Ontology Metadata

Code: ISS-0089
Version: ISS-0089@0.1.0
Ontology release: 0.1.0
Updated: 2026-05-10T00:00:00Z
Canonical URL: /workbench/issues/workflow-waits-on-step-that-waits-back/

## Summary

A workflow step waits for another step that also waits on the first step, creating a blocking loop.

## Category

- CAT-0130 — Loops & Resolution
  - URL: /workbench/categories/loops-and-resolution/
  - Summary: Problems where agents, workflows, reviews, approvals, policies, schemas, or routing paths loop, wait on themselves, fail to settle, or cannot identify a final state.

## Primary Pattern

- PAT-0250 — Circular Dependency
  - URL: /workbench/patterns/circular-dependency/
  - Summary: A structural condition where two or more elements depend on each other in a closed loop without an independent base condition or declared resolution mechanism.

## Declared Patterns

- PAT-0250 — Circular Dependency
  - URL: /workbench/patterns/circular-dependency/
  - Summary: A structural condition where two or more elements depend on each other in a closed loop without an independent base condition or declared resolution mechanism.
- PAT-0320 — Convergence Failure
  - URL: /workbench/patterns/convergence-failure/
  - Summary: A structural condition where sequential or parallel states fail to resolve into an equivalent or coherent structure under shared authority and constraints.
- PAT-0310 — Orphaned Structure
  - URL: /workbench/patterns/orphaned-structure/
  - Summary: A structural condition where a node, region, object, state, or declaration exists without linkage to the governing graph or integration pathway.

## Derived Primary Lenses

- LEN-0100 — Absence Lens
  - URL: /workbench/lenses/absence-lens/
  - Summary: Detects structurally required elements that are missing from the observed structure.
- LEN-0150 — Conflict Lens
  - URL: /workbench/lenses/conflict-lens/
  - Summary: Detects mutually incompatible constraints, claims, states, or declarations that cannot be simultaneously satisfied.
- LEN-0170 — Convergence Lens
  - URL: /workbench/lenses/convergence-lens/
  - Summary: Compares parallel structural systems to determine whether they align under shared authority.
- LEN-0250 — Propagation Lens
  - URL: /workbench/lenses/propagation-lens/
  - Summary: Traces how structural declarations, effects, or state changes propagate across boundaries or stages.

## Derived Secondary Lenses

- LEN-0230 — Normalization Lens
  - URL: /workbench/lenses/normalization-lens/
  - Summary: Transforms structurally equivalent variants into a canonical form to prevent false divergence.
- LEN-0270 — Reconciliation Lens
  - URL: /workbench/lenses/reconciliation-lens/
  - Summary: Evaluates whether structural changes align with declared authority updates, version changes, or reconciliation rules.
- LEN-0290 — Variance / Entropy Lens
  - URL: /workbench/lenses/variance-entropy-lens/
  - Summary: Measures structural variability across repeated or comparable evaluations and identifies divergence beyond expected bounds.

## Search Intents

- workflow waits on step that waits back
- AI workflow circular wait
- workflow steps wait on each other
- handoff blocked by previous step
- AI process stuck waiting
- workflow dependency loop