workflow-bpmn-validator

name	workflow-bpmn-validator
description	Validates Alfresco Activiti BPMN 2.0 process definition files and companion workflow model XML for structural correctness: required namespaces, task assignees, variable naming conventions, process variable promotion pattern, formKey alignment, and forbidden Activiti 6/Flowable patterns. Trigger automatically when generating or editing *.bpmn files or *-workflow-model.xml files.

Workflow BPMN Validator

Validate the given Alfresco Activiti BPMN process definition (and companion workflow model, if present) against these rules.

BPMN Namespace Validation

• Root element must be <definitions> with BPMN 2.0 namespace: xmlns="http://www.omg.org/spec/BPMN/20100524/MODEL"
• REQUIRED: xmlns:activiti="http://activiti.org/bpmn" — must be present; Alfresco Activiti extensions use this namespace
• ERROR if present: Any org.flowable.* class reference in class attributes of <activiti:taskListener>, <activiti:executionListener>, or <serviceTask activiti:class="...">. ACS 26.1 uses Activiti 5.22.x; the Flowable API is not on the classpath.

Process Structure Validation

• <process> element must have:
  • id attribute (camelCase identifier)
  • name attribute (human-readable)
  • isExecutable="true"
• WARNING if any <startEvent> is missing activiti:formKey in a non-trivial process (more than one user task)
• Every <userTask> must have either activiti:assignee or activiti:candidateGroups:
  • WARNING if a user task has neither — it will never be claimable
  • WARNING if a user task that represents an approval step is missing activiti:formKey
• Every <exclusiveGateway> with multiple outgoing sequence flows must have <conditionExpression> on all but one outgoing flow:
  • ERROR if an outgoing flow from an exclusive gateway has no condition and is not marked as default
• Every <serviceTask> must have either activiti:class or activiti:expression or activiti:delegateExpression:
  • WARNING for service tasks with none of these attributes (becomes a no-op)

Variable Naming Validation

• Scan all <activiti:string> blocks inside <activiti:field name="script"> elements and inside <conditionExpression> elements
• ERROR if any call to execution.setVariable(...) or task.getVariableLocal(...) uses a variable name containing a colon (e.g. acme:outcome). The correct form uses underscore (acme_outcome). Alfresco maps content model properties {prefix}wf:{propName} → process variable {prefix}wf_{propName} (colon → underscore).
• ERROR if any <conditionExpression> references a variable with a colon in the name (e.g. ${acme:count == 2}). Use ${acme_count == 2}.

Task Listener Validation

• Any <activiti:taskListener> or <activiti:executionListener> using a class attribute:
  • ERROR if the class is from org.flowable.*
  • Allowed built-in classes: org.alfresco.repo.workflow.activiti.tasklistener.ScriptTaskListener, org.alfresco.repo.workflow.activiti.listener.ScriptExecutionListener
  • INFO if the class is custom (not from org.alfresco.*) — confirm it implements org.activiti.engine.delegate.TaskListener

Timer Event Validation

• Every <boundaryEvent> containing a <timerEventDefinition> must have:
  • cancelActivity attribute explicitly set to "true" or "false" — WARNING if missing
  • Timer duration in ISO 8601 format inside <timeDuration>: PT{N}S, PT{N}M, PT{N}H, P{N}D, or combinations — ERROR if the format does not match ISO 8601

Workflow Model Alignment

If a companion *-workflow-model.xml exists in the same module's model/ directory:

• Every activiti:formKey value in the BPMN must correspond to a <type name="..."> declared in the workflow model:
  • ERROR if a formKey references a type not present in the workflow model
• The workflow model must import the bpm namespace: <import uri="http://www.alfresco.org/model/bpm/1.0" prefix="bpm"/>
  • ERROR if this import is missing
• Every workflow task type must extend bpm:startTask, bpm:activitiOutcomeTask, or bpm:workflowTask:
  • WARNING if a type in the workflow model has no recognized bpm: parent
• ERROR if any property in the workflow model uses <mandatory enforced="true"> — the integrity checker fires before addAspect() writes properties, causing a spurious IntegrityException

Bootstrap Registration Check

If a bootstrap-context.xml exists in the module's context/ directory:

• WARNING if it contains a <bean> with parent="dictionaryModelBootstrap" that lists a .bpmn file in its models property — BPMN files must be registered via parent="workflowDeployer", not dictionaryModelBootstrap
• WARNING if the workflowDeployer bean has <prop key="redeploy">true</prop> — this causes duplicate process definitions on every restart

Output

Report all violations with:

• File path and element ID (BPMN) or type name (workflow model)
• Rule violated
• Suggested fix

If no violations are found, confirm: "BPMN and workflow model are valid for ACS 26.1 / Activiti 5.x."