Introduction to Orchestration

We have successfully engineered a functional and intelligent multi-agent system. In our current architecture, a central controller agent controls the system. It interprets a user’s request, understands a complex, multi-step plan provided in its instructions, and intelligently delegates tasks to a team of specialized worker agents. This system is a powerful demonstration of how LLMs can be used not just for executing tasks, but for reasoning about and directing a complex workflow.

However, as we move from building prototypes to engineering professional, production-grade applications, we must consider new dimensions of system quality: reliability, predictability, and maintainability. The very flexibility that makes an LLM-powered controller so powerful can also introduce a degree of unpredictability. For certain problems, particularly those involving important business processes, this unpredictability can be a significant risk. This lesson introduces a more structured and robust method for managing agent interactions: deterministic orchestration.

The need for predictable workflows

The controller agent we built relies on its LLM’s ability to interpret a prompt and make the right decisions at runtime. This approach is highly flexible. But what about processes where flexibility is not a feature, but a potential risk?

Let’s imagine a business-critical workflow, such as an automated system for processing an online e-commerce order. For the system to function correctly, three steps must occur in a precise and non-negotiable sequence:

1. First, call the process_payment agent to charge the customer’s credit card.

2. Only if payment succeeds, call the update_inventory agent to decrement the stock count.

3. Finally, only if the inventory is updated, call the dispatch_shipping agent to notify the warehouse.

If we gave these instructions to an LLM-powered agent, it would likely follow them correctly most of the time. However, an LLM operates on guidelines, not guarantees. It is a probabilistic system, and there is no absolute certainty that it wouldn’t deviate from the plan. For a business, the risk of shipping a product before payment is processed is unacceptable. In such scenarios, we need to enforce the workflow, not just suggest it. We need to move from a guideline to a guarantee. This is precisely the purpose of deterministic orchestration.

What is deterministic orchestration?

Deterministic orchestration is a method of controlling the execution flow of agents using predefined, explicit logic, where the sequence of operations is guaranteed and predictable.

Instead of asking an LLM to reason about the workflow at runtime, we define the workflow itself ...