fix: relax sign-off validation to only block on explicit PENDING/FAIL

Agents that participate but never mention SIGN-OFF: (e.g., Chief
Architect doing analysis work) are not reviewers and should not block
termination. Only agents that explicitly say SIGN-OFF: PENDING or
SIGN-OFF: FAIL will block. This prevents the Coordinator from looping
when worker agents complete without reviewer sign-off text.

Co-authored-by: Copilot <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>

Author: Prachig-Microsoft

src/processor/src/libs/agent_framework/groupchat_orchestrator.py

@@ -427,17 +427,19 @@ def _validate_sign_offs(self, conversation: list[Message]) -> tuple[bool, str]:
             and name != self.get_result_generator_name()
         ]
 
-        # Validate sign-offs
+        # Validate sign-offs — only for agents that explicitly attempted one.
+        # Agents like Chief Architect may participate without issuing a
+        # sign-off (they do analysis work, not reviews). We only block
+        # termination when an agent explicitly said SIGN-OFF: PENDING/FAIL.
         missing_or_invalid = []
         for agent_name in reviewer_agents:
             status = sign_offs.get(agent_name)
-            if status != "PASS":
-                if status == "PENDING":
-                    missing_or_invalid.append(f"{agent_name}: PENDING")
-                elif status == "FAIL":
-                    missing_or_invalid.append(f"{agent_name}: FAIL")
-                else:
-                    missing_or_invalid.append(f"{agent_name}: missing")
+            if status == "PENDING":
+                missing_or_invalid.append(f"{agent_name}: PENDING")
+            elif status == "FAIL":
+                missing_or_invalid.append(f"{agent_name}: FAIL")
+            # If status is None (agent never mentioned SIGN-OFF:), skip —
+            # not all agents are reviewers.
 
         if missing_or_invalid:
             reason = f"Cannot terminate: {', '.join(missing_or_invalid)}. All reviewers must have SIGN-OFF: PASS."

src/processor/src/tests/unit/libs/agent_framework/test_groupchat_orchestrator_internals.py

@@ -239,12 +239,21 @@ def test_fail_blocks(self):
         assert ok is False
         assert "FAIL" in reason
 
-    def test_missing_blocks(self):
+    def test_missing_does_not_block(self):
+        """Agents that never mention SIGN-OFF: are not reviewers and should not block."""
         orch = _make_orch()
         msgs = [_Msg(author_name="A", text="some text without signoff")]
         ok, reason = orch._validate_sign_offs(msgs)
+        assert ok is True
+        assert reason == ""
+
+    def test_pending_blocks(self):
+        """Agents that explicitly say SIGN-OFF: PENDING should block."""
+        orch = _make_orch()
+        msgs = [_Msg(author_name="A", text="SIGN-OFF: PENDING")]
+        ok, reason = orch._validate_sign_offs(msgs)
         assert ok is False
-        assert "missing" in reason
+        assert "PENDING" in reason
 
     def test_excludes_coordinator_and_resultgenerator(self):
         orch = _make_orch()

src/processor/src/tests/unit/libs/agent_framework/test_groupchat_orchestrator_termination.py

@@ -61,11 +61,12 @@ async def _run():
     asyncio.run(_run())
 
 
-def test_coordinator_complete_rejected_when_signoffs_missing():
+def test_coordinator_complete_accepted_when_no_explicit_signoffs():
+    """Agents that never mention SIGN-OFF: are treated as non-reviewers."""
     async def _run():
         orch = _make_orchestrator()
 
-        # Agent participated but never produced a SIGN-OFF.
+        # Agent participated but never produced a SIGN-OFF — should NOT block.
         orch._conversation = [
             _Msg(author_name="AKS Expert", text="Reviewed; looks good."),
         ]
@@ -84,6 +85,36 @@ async def _run():
 
         await orch._complete_agent_response("Coordinator", callback=None)
 
+        # No explicit SIGN-OFF: in any message → termination allowed.
+        assert orch._termination_requested is True
+
+    asyncio.run(_run())
+
+
+def test_coordinator_complete_rejected_when_signoffs_pending():
+    """Agents with explicit SIGN-OFF: PENDING should block termination."""
+    async def _run():
+        orch = _make_orchestrator()
+
+        # Agent participated and said SIGN-OFF: PENDING → should block.
+        orch._conversation = [
+            _Msg(author_name="AKS Expert", text="SIGN-OFF: PENDING - need more info"),
+        ]
+
+        orch._current_agent_start_time = datetime.now()
+        orch._current_agent_response = [
+            json.dumps(
+                {
+                    "selected_participant": None,
+                    "instruction": "complete",
+                    "finish": False,
+                    "final_message": "done",
+                }
+            )
+        ]
+
+        await orch._complete_agent_response("Coordinator", callback=None)
+
         assert orch._termination_requested is False
 
     asyncio.run(_run())