Process Orchestration
Process Orchestration provides enterprise-grade multi-phase workflows with human-in-the-loop approvals, external participant management, and RAID-based responsibility assignment. It is designed for complex deployments that span days or weeks and involve multiple stakeholders.
Why Process Orchestration?
Complex enterprise deployments require:
- Multi-phase execution -- Structured phases with gates and dependencies
- Human oversight -- Customer stakeholders approve critical decisions
- External participants -- Magic link authentication for non-users
- RAID model -- Clear responsibility assignment
- Team coordination -- Multiple agents working together with shared context
- Audit trail -- Complete history of decisions and actions
Process Orchestration vs Workflows
| Feature | Workflows | Process Orchestration |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Task automation | Enterprise deployments |
| Phases | Sequential nodes | Named phases with gates |
| Human involvement | Optional approval nodes | Required external stakeholders |
| Responsibility | Implicit | Explicit RAID model |
| Team support | Single agent focus | Multi-agent team templates |
| Duration | Minutes to hours | Days to weeks |
Core Concepts
Phases
Phases group related activities. Each phase has an order, a set of tasks, optional approval requirements, and an estimated duration. Phases can run their tasks in parallel or sequentially.
Tasks
Tasks are the atomic units of work within a phase. Each task has an assignee (agent or human), optional dependencies on other tasks, required approvals, and expected output artifacts.
Gates
Gates are checkpoints between phases. They can be:
| Gate Type | Description |
|---|---|
| Approval | Requires human sign-off before the next phase |
| Condition | Proceeds only if a condition is met |
| Manual | Requires explicit manual advancement |
The RAID Model
The RAID model extends RACI for AI-driven processes:
| Role | Description | Typical Actor |
|---|---|---|
| Responsible | Executes the work | AI Agent |
| Approver | Must approve before proceeding | Customer stakeholder |
| Informed | Notified of progress | Project managers |
| Delegator | Can assign work to others | Internal support |
External Participants
External participants are customer stakeholders who interact via magic links -- no full platform account required. They can view process status, approve or reject requests, add comments, and upload documents, all through a secure portal.
See External Participants for details.
Best Practices
Define phases with clear entry and exit criteria. Each gate should have explicit approval requirements so nothing falls through the cracks.
Standard business approval: 48 hours. Urgent security decision: 4 hours with 2-hour escalation. Complex compliance review: 7 days with reminders at 24 and 72 hours.
Ensure agents have the context they need by defining thorough onboarding properties: business context (customer name, contract tier), technical context (IDP type, integrations), and deployment context (target go-live date, stakeholder contacts).
Handle task failures without blocking the entire process. Configure retry with escalation so that if an agent fails, the issue is surfaced to the deployment lead before the process stalls.
Next: Learn about Teams for configuring multi-agent collaboration.