Part 2 of 6 · 2 min read
Definitions and setup
Covers: Definitions; The five shapes.
Definitions
Orchestration shape, workflow pattern, autonomous pattern
- Orchestration shape: the structure that decides which agent acts next and what it sees.
- Workflow pattern: the path is fixed in code (sequential, conditional, parallel).
- Autonomous pattern: agents choose the path at run time (plan-based orchestration, handoff, group chat).
Router, orchestrator, worker, handoff, critic
- Router: classifies the task and sends it to one agent.
- Orchestrator: decomposes the task, dispatches parts and combines the results.
- Worker: executes one part.
- Handoff: one agent transfers control, and usually context, to another. Agents can be modelled as tools of one another.
- Critic: an agent that evaluates another agent's output and accepts or rejects it.
Decomposition, hop limit, critical path
- Decomposition: splitting a task into parts that different agents handle.
- Hop limit: a cap on the number of handoffs in one task, so control cannot bounce forever.
- Critical path: the number of calls that must happen one after another for one task.