Agent Orchestration
Agent orchestration is the practice of designing how agents, tools, and state interact across a multi-step task. It encompasses the choice of mental model (graph, role-based, hierarchy, swarm, handoff), routing logic, state management, error recovery, and termination conditions. Orchestration is distinct from "agent design," which is per-agent — orchestration is the system-level discipline.
Different frameworks make different orchestration choices the default, which is why framework selection often shapes the orchestration mental model that follows, and why teams who pick a framework without understanding its orchestration assumptions often end up working against the grain.
Example
An orchestration choice — sequential (each agent consumes the previous output) versus hierarchical (a manager agent routes work) versus graph-based (explicit nodes and edges) — shapes everything from latency profile to debuggability. Picking sequential when the task has real branching forces the workflow into either rigid paths or hidden coupling between steps; picking hierarchical when one path suffices burns tokens on a manager that does no real work.
Frequently asked questions
What is Agent Orchestration?
- Agent orchestration is the practice of designing how agents, tools, and state interact across a multi-step task. It encompasses the choice of mental model (graph, role-based, hierarchy, swarm, handoff), routing logic, state management, error recovery, and termination conditions.
How does Agent Orchestration work?
- Different frameworks make different orchestration choices the default, which is why framework selection often shapes the orchestration mental model that follows, and why teams who pick a framework without understanding its orchestration assumptions often end up working against the grain.
Can you give an example of Agent Orchestration?
- An orchestration choice — sequential (each agent consumes the previous output) versus hierarchical (a manager agent routes work) versus graph-based (explicit nodes and edges) — shapes everything from latency profile to debuggability. Picking sequential when the task has real branching forces the workflow into either rigid paths or hidden coupling between steps; picking hierarchical when one path suffices burns tokens on a manager that does no real work.