Notation

Every pattern is drawn with the same seven shapes and two lines. Work enters at the top and moves down.

Shapes

Person
A human who asks, reviews or approves.
Model call
One call to a model.
Agent
A model that uses tools in a loop until it is done.
Tool
Something outside the model that it can call or act on.
Code
A fixed step that runs the same way every time.
Context
Text a model reads or writes: a plan, a history, a summary.
Start or end
What goes in, or what comes out.

Lines

Always
This step happens every time.
Sometimes
This step happens only when it is needed or chosen.

A shape’s name is a word its sources use. The few words on a line are ours.