Execution
The workflow execution system is responsible for running workflows, managing their lifecycle, handling errors, and providing monitoring capabilities.
Execution Engine
The execution engine handles:
- Workflow instantiation
- State management
- Activity execution
- Error handling
- Compensation
Execution Flow
execution:
workflow: high_priority_ticket
trigger:
event: ticket:created
conditions:
priority: high
activities:
- name: notify_team
- name: assign_agent
- name: set_sla
compensation:
strategy: reverse
activities:
- name: revert_assignment
- name: clear_sla
State Management
1. Workflow State
Track workflow execution:
state:
id: wf_123
status: running
started_at: "2024-01-01T10:00:00Z"
current_activity: assign_agent
variables:
ticket_id: "T-123"
assigned_agent: "A-456"
2. Activity State
Monitor individual activities:
activity_state:
id: act_789
name: assign_agent
status: completed
started_at: "2024-01-01T10:00:05Z"
completed_at: "2024-01-01T10:00:06Z"
input:
ticket_id: "T-123"
output:
success: true
agent_id: "A-456"
Monitoring
1. Real-time Monitoring
Track active workflows:
monitoring:
active_workflows: 25
completed_today: 150
failed_today: 3
average_duration: "45s"
current_load: "medium"
2. Metrics
Collect performance metrics:
metrics:
execution_time:
avg: 45
p95: 120
p99: 180
success_rate: 99.5
error_rate: 0.5
throughput: 100
3. Logging
Comprehensive logging:
logging:
level: info
components:
- workflow_engine
- activity_executor
- state_manager
format:
timestamp: string
workflow_id: string
activity: string
message: string
Error Handling
1. Activity Errors
Handle activity failures:
error_handling:
activity_error:
retry:
max_attempts: 3
backoff:
initial: 1s
multiplier: 2
fallback:
activity: skip
notify: true
2. Workflow Errors
Handle workflow failures:
error_handling:
workflow_error:
strategy: compensate
notification:
channels: [slack, email]
recipients: [workflow_admin]
Compensation
1. Compensation Strategy
Define how to handle failures:
compensation:
strategy: reverse
mode: automatic
timeout: 5m
notification: true
2. Compensation Activities
Define reversal activities:
compensation_activities:
assign_agent:
activity: unassign_agent
params:
ticket_id: ${workflow.ticket_id}
agent_id: ${workflow.assigned_agent}
1. Concurrency
Manage parallel execution:
concurrency:
max_workflows: 1000
max_activities: 100
queuing:
strategy: fifo
timeout: 30s
2. Resource Management
Control resource usage:
resources:
cpu:
limit: 4
request: 2
memory:
limit: "2Gi"
request: "1Gi"
Best Practices
1. Execution Design
- Plan for failures
- Implement proper logging
- Monitor performance
- Handle timeouts
- Manage resources
2. Error Recovery
- Implement retry logic
- Define compensation activities
- Handle partial failures
- Maintain consistency
- Notify stakeholders
3. Monitoring
- Set up alerts
- Track metrics
- Analyze patterns
- Monitor resources
- Log important events
Common Patterns
1. Saga Pattern
Handle distributed transactions:
saga:
steps:
- activity: create_ticket
compensation: delete_ticket
- activity: assign_agent
compensation: unassign_agent
- activity: set_sla
2. Circuit Breaker
Prevent cascading failures:
circuit_breaker:
threshold: 5
timeout: 60s
reset: 300s
monitoring:
enabled: true
metrics: [error_rate, latency]
3. Bulkhead
Isolate failures:
bulkhead:
max_concurrent: 10
max_queue_size: 100
timeout: 30s
fallback:
activity: degrade_service
Debugging
1. Execution Tracing
Track workflow execution:
tracing:
enabled: true
sampling_rate: 0.1
components:
- workflow_engine
- activity_executor
- state_manager
Available debugging features:
- Step-by-step execution
- State inspection
- Variable watching
- Activity replay
- Log analysis
Next Steps
Return to Overview to review the complete workflow system architecture.
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