Phase 5: Agent Orchestration Patterns · 40 min · Claude Code · Python

Workflows vs. Agents: When to Use Which

Own the control flow when the path is predictable. Own only the goal and guardrails when it isn't.

What you will learn

Define workflows (predefined control flow, the engineer owns the path) versus agents (the model chooses the next step from environment feedback)
Decide which architecture fits a task based on whether its step sequence is knowable in advance
Identify the cost of choosing the wrong architecture in both directions: over-engineering a predictable task, or over-constraining an open-ended one
Build a classifier that recommends workflow or agent architecture from a task's actual attributes

Introduction

Workflows vs. Agents: When to Use Which

Objective

Recommend a workflow or agent architecture for a task based on whether its step sequence is knowable in advance, and validate it against the triage and debugging-assistant tasks from this lesson.

Unlock the full lesson

You've read the first 2 sections. The rest of this lesson covers The Problem, The Concept, Build, Check Yourself, Key Terms & Next — plus a hands-on lab, quiz, and project artifact.

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