chapter three
3 Errand: Breaking complex workflows into units
This chapter covers
- Decomposing complex workflows into small, testable routines called errands
- Using errands to encapsulate narrow, unidirectional, side-effect-free intelligent operations within larger agentic processes
- Understanding how errands contribute to agent capability, robustness, and reliability while adding some overhead
- Addressing recurring agent design challenges with errands
Developing agents is usually an iterative process, interleaved with frequent testing and often leading to changes in the approach or modifications to the agents’ specifications. As agents grow more complex, we need to cleanly separate the individual workflows that make up the agent’s execution, for at least two reasons: (1) clear delineation is easier to maintain and test separately, localizing any changes needed if the tested workflow is found wanting; and (2) this separation makes it easier to introduce parallelization, reducing the time the agent needs to complete its task and potentially increasing its cost efficiency.