Resources
Work System Gallery
Search a name — swarm, DAG, blackboard, ReAct — or browse the work systems, arrangements and ingredients. There is a lot of new vocabulary; this is where those names map onto a model.
How real work gets organized
Most business work does not follow just one pattern.
One part may happen in sequence, another may happen in parallel. A lead may coordinate some work, while a committee makes the final decision. People, AI agents and software can each take different parts.
These examples show how those pieces come together in familiar work.
Research Review & Approval
Specialists investigate different parts of the question, a lead brings the work together, and an independent panel makes the final decision.
- How the work is organized
- Lead + Specialists + Committee
- Who does the work
- Research can be done by people or AI agents; final approval remains independent.
Supply Allocation & Response
Suppliers, plants and logistics teams watch the same supply situation and respond as conditions change. When a decision is required, a rule selects the response and the resulting work follows a defined path.
- How the work is organized
- Shared Board + Decision + Sequence
- Who does the work
- People, AI agents or both.
Incident Response
Responders work directly with one another during an incident. When the situation needs coordinated direction, an incident lead takes control and assigns specialists.
- How the work is organized
- Peer Network + Lead + Specialists
- Who does the work
- People, AI agents or both.
Investment Review & Decision
Analysts build and challenge an investment case. An independent committee reviews the evidence and makes the decision.
- How the work is organized
- Lead + Specialists + Committee + Decision
- Who does the work
- AI agents can perform research and analysis; decision authority stays with the designated reviewers.
Work Marketplace
Work is posted to a pool of eligible people or agents. They can claim or compete for it, and the selected participant carries the work forward.
- How the work is organized
- Market + Sequence
- Who does the work
- People, AI agents or both.
Clinical Case Coordination
A case moves from one specialist to another as different expertise is needed. Responsibility moves with the case, while each specialist performs the work appropriate to that stage.
- How the work is organized
- Handoff + Sequence
- Who does the work
- People, AI agents or both.
Automated Cloud Recovery
Software watches the environment for problems, takes corrective action, checks whether it worked and tries again within defined limits.
- How the work is organized
- Shared State + Bounded Loop
- Who does the work
- AI agents and software.
Competitive Solution Review
Several participants develop competing solutions. An independent review group evaluates them and selects which one moves forward.
- How the work is organized
- Market + Committee
- Who does the work
- People, AI agents or both.
Follow-the-Sun Service Desk
Cases move between regional teams as availability, expertise, jurisdiction and time zones change. The case carries its history and authority with it.
- How the work is organized
- Handoff
- Who does the work
- People, AI agents or both.
Enterprise Change Coordination
Finance, HR, technology, legal and operations work from the same view of a transformation. A change in one area automatically brings in the other groups affected by it.
- How the work is organized
- Shared Board
- Who does the work
- People, AI agents or both.
Design Review & Challenge
Designers develop and challenge competing ideas together. A separate review group decides which ideas advance.
- How the work is organized
- Peer Network + Committee
- Who does the work
- People, AI agents or both.
Mission Coordination
A mission lead sets priorities and owns the outcome, while specialist capacity is brought in as needs change.
- How the work is organized
- Lead + Specialists + Market
- Who does the work
- People, AI agents or both.
Dynamic Capacity Allocation
When a capacity gap appears, eligible people or agents can volunteer or compete to fill it instead of waiting for a manager to assign someone.
- How the work is organized
- Shared Board + Market
- Who does the work
- People, AI agents or both.
Policy-Governed Collaboration
Participants work directly with one another within agreed rules. When an issue requires formal authority, a separate decision group settles it.
- How the work is organized
- Peer Network + Committee
- Who does the work
- People and AI agents can collaborate; designated reviewers settle decisions that require authority.
Exception Handling
Routine work follows the normal path. When something unusual happens, a lead brings in the right specialists, resolves the issue and returns the work to the normal flow.
- How the work is organized
- Sequence + Lead + Specialists
- Who does the work
- People, AI agents or both.
Adaptive Operations
Normal work is handled locally without a central coordinator. When an exception occurs, a lead temporarily coordinates the response and steps away once the problem is resolved.
- How the work is organized
- Shared Board + Lead + Specialists
- Who does the work
- People, AI agents or both.
Product Launch
Creative, evidence and compliance work move toward launch together. Agents prepare the materials, a marketer chooses the creative, and legal approves the claims before anything goes live.
- How the work is organized
- Sequence + Review Loop
- Who does the work
- Agents prepare and check the work; marketing and legal make the decisions.
Incident Response
An incident is classified first. For urgent cases, context gathering, investigation and customer communications can happen at the same time before final approval.
- How the work is organized
- Decision + Parallel Work + Sequence
- Who does the work
- Agents handle triage and communications support; incident and communications leads retain decision authority.
Insurance Claims Review
On a major home claim, agents review property, contents and additional living costs at the same time. A claims lead brings in the specialists each case needs and approves the outcome.
- How the work is organized
- Parallel Work + Lead + Specialists
- Who does the work
- Agents prepare each part; specialists step in on judgment and the claims lead owns the case.
Telecom Service Activation
Once an order exists, customer validation, service provisioning and network configuration can move forward at the same time. Activation happens only when the required conditions are satisfied.
- How the work is organized
- Parallel Work + Approval
- Who does the work
- Agents can perform validation, provisioning and configuration; network operations retains activation authority.
Inventory Exception Management
When a shortage appears, inventory, logistics and supplier agents watch the same situation and act when something relevant to them changes. A planner steps in only when human judgment is needed.
- How the work is organized
- Sequence + Shared Board
- Who does the work
- Inventory, logistics and supplier agents, with a supply planner handling exceptions.
Sales Proposal Process
Once an opportunity is qualified, narrative, pricing and past-performance work can develop together against the same requirements. The bid lead brings it together and decides when the response is ready to submit.
- How the work is organized
- Sequence + Shared Board
- Who does the work
- Agents can develop the different parts of the response; the bid lead owns submission.