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ERP Preflight

Workflow Stuck Explainer

Deterministic diagnostic analysis of stuck, failed, or overdue SAP Business Workflows

Content reviewed September 26, 2026

Engine
WORKFLOW_STUCK_EXPLAINER
Domain
Operations
Version
2.1.0
Target releases
S4H_2022, S4H_2023, S4HANA_CLOUD_2402, S4HANA_CLOUD_2408
Accepted formats
JSON, CSV

Input contract

Workflow runtime extracts: JSON {'swwwihead': [{wi_id, wi_type, wi_stat, wi_rh_task}], 'swwloghist': [...], 'agent_traces': [...], 'swetypv': [...], 'containers': [...], 'deadlines': [...]} or CSV exports of SWWWIHEAD / SWWLOGHIST / SWETYPV with their column headers.

Required input

  • SWWWIHEAD work items (or other workflow runtime tables)

Finding codes

Finding codes (6)

  • WF_DEADLOCK_DETECTEDDefault severity: BlockerCategory: Workflow Design

    Circular wait between work items

    Remediation: Break the wait cycle: complete or logically delete one item (SWIA) and redesign the conditions / fork so the steps do not wait on each other.

  • WF_BACKGROUND_TASK_FAILEDDefault severity: CriticalCategory: Background Processing

    Background step ended in error

    Remediation: Analyse the exception in SWI1 / SWWLOGHIST, correct the data or method, then restart the item via SWPR / SWIA 'Restart after error'.

  • WF_STUCK_NO_AGENTDefault severity: CriticalCategory: Agent Determination

    Work item READY without any possible agent

    Remediation: Forward the work item in SWIA; then fix the agent rule (PFAC / 'Manage Workflows' responsibility rules) and the org assignment (PPOME) so it resolves to at least one active user.

  • WF_CONTAINER_BINDING_ERRORDefault severity: MajorCategory: Data Binding

    Container element empty or binding failed

    Remediation: Fix the binding in the workflow builder (SWDD) or the task container; correct the instance data and restart the item.

  • WF_DEADLINE_BREACHEDDefault severity: MajorCategory: SLA Monitoring

    Deadline / SLA exceeded

    Remediation: Escalate per the deadline configuration, forward to a substitute and review the deadline job (SWWDHEX / SWWDEADL).

  • WF_EVENT_LINKAGE_DEACTIVATEDDefault severity: MajorCategory: Event Linkage

    Event type linkage deactivated

    Remediation: Reactivate the linkage in SWE2 (and check why it was deactivated — error feedback 'deactivate linkage').

Input validation codes (5)

  • WF_ARCHIVE_REJECTEDDefault severity: MajorCategory: INPUT_VALIDATION

    Archive rejected by ingestion safety limits

    Remediation: The archive exceeded the 100:1 expansion ratio, 500 MB total size, entry-count or 2-level nesting limit, or contained path traversal / encrypted members. Upload a flat, unencrypted archive of the export files. No verdict was produced. Re-export the artifact in one of the formats accepted by Workflow Stuck Explainer (JSON, CSV) and re-run the analysis.

  • WF_INVALID_INPUTDefault severity: MajorCategory: INPUT_VALIDATION

    Artifact does not match the engine input contract

    Remediation: Provide the artifact type documented for this engine; unrelated or structurally invalid documents are rejected. No verdict was produced. Re-export the artifact in one of the formats accepted by Workflow Stuck Explainer (JSON, CSV) and re-run the analysis.

  • WF_PARSE_ERRORDefault severity: MajorCategory: INPUT_VALIDATION

    Artifact could not be parsed

    Remediation: Fix the syntax error at the reported line/column (or re-export the file unmodified from SAP). No verdict was produced. Re-export the artifact in one of the formats accepted by Workflow Stuck Explainer (JSON, CSV) and re-run the analysis.

  • WF_PAYLOAD_TOO_LARGEDefault severity: MajorCategory: INPUT_VALIDATION

    Artifact exceeds the size limit

    Remediation: Split the export (e.g. per package, company code or date range) so each upload stays under the service payload limit. No verdict was produced. Re-export the artifact in one of the formats accepted by Workflow Stuck Explainer (JSON, CSV) and re-run the analysis.

  • WF_INSUFFICIENT_INPUTDefault severity: InfoCategory: INPUT_VALIDATION

    Required input missing

    Remediation: Supply every input the engine's contract marks as required (see the engine catalog entry). No verdict was produced. Re-export the artifact in one of the formats accepted by Workflow Stuck Explainer (JSON, CSV) and re-run the analysis.

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Workflow Stuck Explainer — ERP Preflight Docs