[WX-1361] Remove Confusing Error Message

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -2,6 +2,10 @@
 
 ## 88 Release Notes
 
+### Improved status reporting behavior
+
+When Cromwell restarts during a workflow that is failing, it no longer reports pending tasks as a reason for that failure. 
+
 ### Optional docker soft links
 
 Cromwell now allows opting into configured soft links on shared file systems such as HPC environments. More details can

engine/src/main/scala/cromwell/engine/workflow/lifecycle/execution/WorkflowExecutionActor.scala

@@ -181,9 +181,16 @@ case class WorkflowExecutionActor(params: WorkflowExecutionActorParams)
     case Event(JobFailedNonRetryableResponse(jobKey, _: JobNotFoundException, _), _) if restarting =>
       val benignException =
         new Exception(
-          "Cromwell server was restarted while this workflow was running. As part of the restart process, Cromwell attempted to reconnect to this job, however it was never started in the first place. This is a benign failure and not the cause of failure for this workflow, it can be safely ignored."
+          "Task did not start because a previous job has already failed."
         ) with NoStackTrace
-      handleNonRetryableFailure(stateData, jobKey, benignException)
+
+      handleNonRetryableFailure(stateData,
+                                jobKey,
+                                benignException,
+                                None,
+                                Map.empty,
+                                includeInWorkflowLevelFailures = false
+      )
   }
 
   /* ********************** */
@@ -470,11 +477,14 @@ case class WorkflowExecutionActor(params: WorkflowExecutionActorParams)
                                         failedJobKey: JobKey,
                                         reason: Throwable,
                                         returnCode: Option[Int] = None,
-                                        jobExecutionMap: JobExecutionMap = Map.empty
+                                        jobExecutionMap: JobExecutionMap = Map.empty,
+                                        includeInWorkflowLevelFailures: Boolean = true
   ) = {
     pushFailedCallMetadata(failedJobKey, returnCode, reason, retryableFailure = false)
 
-    val dataWithFailure = stateData.executionFailure(failedJobKey, reason, jobExecutionMap)
+    val dataWithFailure =
+      if (includeInWorkflowLevelFailures) stateData.executionFailure(failedJobKey, reason, jobExecutionMap)
+      else stateData
     /*
      * If new calls are allowed don't seal the execution store as we want to go as far as possible.
      *