Agent Orchestration Design Patterns: From Simple to Enterprise
Mentiko Team
Design patterns in agent orchestration serve the same purpose as design patterns in software: they give you proven solutions to recurring problems. Here are the patterns we see most often, organized by complexity.
Beginner patterns
The Pipeline
The simplest and most common pattern. Agents execute in sequence.
A -> B -> C -> D
When to use: Tasks with clear sequential steps. Content pipelines, data processing, document generation.
Example: Researcher -> Writer -> Editor -> Publisher
The Gate
A pipeline with a checkpoint agent that decides whether to continue.
A -> B -> [Gate] -> C (if pass) or -> Human (if fail)
When to use: Any pipeline where output quality matters. The gate agent validates before proceeding.
Example: Writer -> QualityChecker -> Publisher (if score > 0.8) or -> Human Review (if score <= 0.8)
Intermediate patterns
The Fan-Out / Fan-In
One agent triggers multiple parallel agents. A collector waits for all to complete.
-> B1 ->
A -> -> B2 -> -> Collector -> D
-> B3 ->
When to use: Tasks that benefit from parallel processing. Multi-source research, A/B content generation, parallel analysis.
Example: TopicSelector -> [Researcher1, Researcher2, Researcher3] -> Synthesizer -> ReportWriter
The Router
An agent classifies input and routes to different downstream chains.
-> Chain A (if type 1)
Router -> -> Chain B (if type 2)
-> Chain C (if type 3)
When to use: Mixed-input workflows. Support triage (bug vs feature vs question), content routing (blog vs social vs email).
The Retry Loop
A producer and reviewer agent that iterate until quality passes.
Writer -> Reviewer -> Writer (if revise) -> Reviewer (max 3 loops) -> Done
When to use: When iterative refinement produces better output than a single pass. Code review, content editing, design iteration.
Advanced patterns
The Saga
Multiple chains that must all succeed or all roll back. If chain B fails, chain A's effects are undone.
Chain A (do) -> Chain B (do) -> Success
|
v (on failure)
Chain A (undo)
When to use: Multi-step processes where partial completion is worse than no completion. Order processing, data migrations, multi-system updates.
The Supervisor
A meta-agent that monitors other agents and intervenes when needed.
Supervisor (monitors) -> [Agent A, Agent B, Agent C]
- Detects stalls -> nudges agent
- Detects loops -> breaks cycle
- Detects errors -> triggers recovery
When to use: Long-running chains where agents might get stuck. The supervisor provides oversight without human intervention.
The Ensemble
Multiple agents attempt the same task independently. Their outputs are compared or merged.
-> Agent A (approach 1) ->
Input ->-> Agent B (approach 2) ->-> Merger/Voter -> Output
-> Agent C (approach 3) ->
When to use: High-stakes decisions where a single agent's perspective isn't enough. Code review (security + logic + style), research (multiple search strategies), diagnosis (multiple analytical frameworks).
Enterprise patterns
The Governance Layer
A compliance agent reviews all chain outputs before they leave the system.
Any Chain -> Output -> Compliance Agent -> Approved Output
|
v (on violation)
Quarantine + Alert
When to use: Regulated industries. Healthcare, finance, legal. Every output must pass compliance before reaching customers or systems of record.
The Multi-Team Workflow
Chains that span organizational boundaries with approval gates.
Team A Chain -> [Approval Gate] -> Team B Chain -> [Approval Gate] -> Deployment
When to use: Enterprise workflows where multiple teams contribute to a deliverable. The approval gates ensure each team signs off before the next begins.
The Adaptive Pipeline
A chain that modifies its own configuration based on results over time.
Run Chain -> Capture Results -> Evaluate Quality -> Update Prompts -> Run Chain (next iteration)
When to use: Workflows that improve over time. The chain learns from its own output quality and adjusts agent prompts accordingly.
Choosing the right pattern
| Situation | Pattern | |---|---| | Sequential steps, clear order | Pipeline | | Need quality control | Gate | | Multiple independent subtasks | Fan-Out/Fan-In | | Mixed input types | Router | | Output needs refinement | Retry Loop | | All-or-nothing requirement | Saga | | Long-running, might stall | Supervisor | | High-stakes, need multiple views | Ensemble | | Regulated output | Governance | | Cross-team coordination | Multi-Team | | Self-improving workflow | Adaptive |
Start with the simplest pattern that solves your problem. Add complexity only when you hit a real limitation.
Ready to implement these patterns? Build your first chain or see the 5 essential patterns in detail.
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