Workflow patterns

Most workflows follow a small number of common patterns. Choosing the right pattern helps you build workflows that are easier to understand, maintain, and troubleshoot.

These patterns fall into two groups:

• How the workflow starts — user-initiated or event-based.
• How it behaves after it starts — conversation, approvals, waits, branching, parallel processing, integrations, stored values, and events.

A single workflow often combines several patterns. For example, an employee request might start in a conversation, wait for manager approval, and then continue after receiving an event from an external system.

Publishing a new version of a workflow affects new runs. Runs that are already in progress continue on the version they started with.

User-initiated workflows

Use a user-initiated workflow when an employee starts the process by interacting with the AI assistant.

The workflow begins with a Start action set to User-initiated and typically collects information before completing one or more business tasks.

Typical scenarios include:

• Requesting time off
• Updating personal information
• Creating a job or position request

User-initiated workflows provide a conversational experience. The assistant can ask questions, confirm information, and keep employees informed throughout the process.

Event-based workflows

Use an event-based workflow when another system starts the process.

Instead of waiting for an employee to begin a conversation, the workflow starts when an external event is received. Configure Start as Event-based, then choose the event that should start the run.

Typical scenarios include:

• New hire onboarding
• Employee lifecycle changes
• Payroll events
• Provisioning requests

Event-based workflows can run without employee interaction, though they may later include Agent actions if communication is required.

Human-in-the-loop workflows

Use a human-in-the-loop pattern when employees or managers need to provide information or make decisions in the conversation before work can continue.

These workflows combine automated actions with conversational Agent actions. The workflow pauses while awaiting a reply, then resumes once the required information is received.

Typical scenarios include:

• Collecting missing information.
• Confirming employee choices.
• Reviewing generated content.
• Asking a manager a question in the assistant.

When a decision is made in an external system rather than in the conversation, use an approval workflow.

Approval workflows

Use an approval pattern when a decision happens in an external approval system.

An approval workflow typically submits a request, waits for an approval event, and then continues based on the outcome. A Wait action configured for an event lets the workflow resume automatically when the approval system publishes the expected event.

Typical scenarios include:

• Leave requests
• Job requisitions
• Position creation
• Purchase approvals
• Manager approvals handled outside the assistant.

Long-running workflows

Some workflows take hours, days, or weeks to complete.

Instead of running continuously, the workflow pauses until a specified date, time, or external event. Use a Wait action for a duration, a timestamp, or an event.

Typical scenarios include:

• Waiting for a start date
• Waiting for equipment delivery
• Waiting for approvals
• Scheduled follow-up activities

The workflow run remains paused until the wait completes, times out, fails, or is canceled.

Branching workflows

Use a branching pattern when different actions should run based on information collected during the workflow.

Use a Condition action to evaluate data and route the workflow down the appropriate path.

Typical scenarios include:

• Different request types
• Country-specific processes
• Employment type
• Approval outcomes

Each branch can contain different actions while remaining part of the same workflow.

Parallel processing

Use a Process List action when multiple items need to follow the same sequence of actions.

Each item follows the same sequence of child actions. Items can run in parallel, subject to the Process List limit.

Typical scenarios include:

• Creating multiple positions.
• Provisioning several accounts.
• Processing multiple approvals.
• Updating collections of records.

Direct integration calls

Use a Run Tool action when the workflow needs to call a system directly without AI reasoning in that step.

Typical scenarios include:

• Fetching or submitting data in an HR system.
• Calling an API after the employee has provided inputs.
• Performing a deterministic update between conversational steps.

Agent actions are for conversation and judgment. Run Tool is for reliable, repeatable system calls.

State management

Use Set State when information needs to be reused later in the workflow. State variables remain available throughout the workflow run.

Typical uses include:

• Storing request identifiers.
• Saving approval tokens.
• Reusing calculated values.
• Passing values between later steps.

Use Transform when you need to reshape or calculate a value before continuing with the result.

Using stored values avoids repeating calculations or recreating data throughout the workflow.

Notify other processes

Use Send Event when the workflow needs to notify another system or start related automation.

Typical scenarios include:

• Signaling that a request is ready for another team's process.
• Publishing a lifecycle milestone for downstream workflows.
• Handing off to a separate published workflow that listens for the event.

Choosing the right pattern

Use this table to identify the pattern that best fits your process.

Most production workflows combine several patterns to automate business processes while keeping employees informed.