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Specialized

Composite Pattern

Real production systems combine pipeline, parallel, handoff, critic, HITL, blackboard, and protocol layers.

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Definition

Real production systems are rarely a single pattern. They compose pipeline, parallel, handoff, critic, HITL, blackboard, and protocol layers into one business flow.

Category: Composition

When to use

Enterprise agent platforms, coding agents, support agents, research agents — anywhere stable delivery matters.

When not to use

Before single patterns are validated. Composite complexity compounds fast.

How to implement

  1. Settle on a main flow first: workflow / graph.
  2. Insert patterns at specific nodes: parallel retrieval, handoff, critic, approval.
  3. All patterns share one state model, event model, and task registry.
  4. Define input/output schemas at every composition boundary.
  5. Ship the P0 path first; add advanced patterns iteratively.

Minimal pseudocode

TypeScript
const workflow = graph()
  .node("plan", planner)
  .node("parallel_research", fanout([searchA, searchB]))
  .node("draft", writer)
  .node("review", critic)
  .edge("review", s => s.review.pass ? "final" : "draft");

return workflow.run(userTask);

Recommended trace events

  • composite.workflow.started
  • composite.pattern.enter
  • composite.pattern.exit
  • composite.workflow.completed

Common failure modes

  • After composition you cannot tell which pattern caused the problem.
  • Inconsistent state models.
  • Each pattern has its own trace; nothing ties them together.

Implementation checklist

  • Trigger and exit conditions defined.
  • Input/output schemas defined.
  • Permission, budget, timeout, and retry policies defined.
  • Trace events defined.
  • Degradation or human-takeover strategies defined.

References