Agent Design · Orchestration

Agent Orchestration Patterns

Four fundamental patterns for organizing agent architectures — from a single agent with tools to hierarchical multi-agent systems with dynamic delegation.

Pattern 1
Single Agent
One agent with access to multiple tools, handling the complete task within a single context window.
Input
Single Agent
Knowledge
Action
Integration
Output
Pattern 2
Sequential Pipeline
Multiple specialized agents, each handling one phase, passing structured results forward through a defined sequence.
Stage 1
Research
Gather data
Stage 2
Analysis
Process findings
Stage 3
Synthesis
Combine results
Stage 4
Review
Validate output
Pattern 3
Parallel Execution
Multiple agents working simultaneously on independent subtasks, with results aggregated by a coordinator.
Splitter
Decompose task
Agent A
Financial data
Agent B
Patent review
Agent C
Regulatory scan
Aggregator
Merge results
Pattern 4
Hierarchical Orchestration
A coordinator agent dynamically delegates to specialist agents, managing the overall workflow based on intermediate results.
Coordinator
Plans, routes, and evaluates
Billing Agent
Payment systems
Technical Agent
Diagnostics & KB
Escalation Agent
Elevated privileges
Dynamic routing based on results
Comparison
Pattern Trade-offs at a Glance
Single Agent
Latency
Low
Cost
Low
Debuggability
High
Flexibility
Low
Best for
Simple, well-defined tasks
Sequential
Latency
Med-High
Cost
Medium
Debuggability
Medium
Flexibility
Low
Best for
Phased workflows
Parallel
Latency
Low
Cost
High
Debuggability
Medium
Flexibility
Medium
Best for
Independent subtasks
Hierarchical
Latency
Variable
Cost
High
Debuggability
Low
Flexibility
High
Best for
Complex, dynamic tasks