mbruhler/creating-workflows-from-description

Creating Workflows from Description

When to Use

Proactively suggest orchestration when user describes tasks involving:

• Multiple sequential steps with dependencies
• Parallel operations that could run simultaneously
• Conditional logic or branching (if/then scenarios)
• Error handling or retry requirements
• Testing, review, and deployment phases
• Complex multi-agent coordination
• Quality gates or approval checkpoints

Trigger Patterns

Watch for these patterns in user messages:

Explicit workflow requests:

• "I need to [multi-step task]"
• "Help me build a pipeline for [process]"
• "Create a workflow that [description]"
• "Automate [complex task]"

Implicit workflow descriptions:

• User describes 3+ sequential steps
• User mentions temporal ordering: "then", "after that", "once that's done"
• User mentions conditionals: "if that works", "if tests pass"
• User mentions parallel work: "at the same time", "in parallel", "simultaneously"
• User mentions reviews/approvals: "needs review", "after approval"
• User mentions retry/error handling: "if it fails", "retry", "rollback"

Example phrases:

• "run tests, then if they pass..."
• "deploy to production after security review"
• "implement with TDD workflow"
• "check code quality before merging"
• "parallel test execution"

Action

When triggers detected, suggest orchestration:

This sounds like a perfect use case for orchestration! I can help you create a workflow that handles:

[List 2-4 key aspects identified from description, e.g.:]
- Sequential testing and deployment steps
- Parallel validation (tests + security scan)
- Conditional deployment based on test results
- Automatic rollback on failure

Would you like me to guide you through creating this workflow?

If user says yes:

Execute the create command with their description:

/orchestration:create [initial description from user message]

If user says no or wants to see example first:

Show relevant example from docs/reference/examples.md that matches their pattern.

Examples

Example 1: TDD Workflow

User: "I need to implement authentication using test-driven development"

Assistant: "This sounds like a perfect use case for orchestration! I can help you create a TDD workflow that handles:

• Writing tests first
• Running tests and tracking results
• Implementing features to pass tests
• Automatic retry loop for failed tests

Would you like me to guide you through creating this workflow?"

If yes: /orchestration:create implement authentication with TDD

Example 2: Deployment Pipeline

User: "Can you help me set up automated deployment that runs tests first, then if everything passes, does a security scan, and only deploys if both succeed?"

Assistant: "This sounds like a perfect use case for orchestration! I can help you create a deployment pipeline that handles:

• Parallel test and security validation
• Quality gate before deployment (both must pass)
• Automatic deployment when validation succeeds
• Rollback capability if deployment fails

Would you like me to guide you through creating this workflow?"

If yes: /orchestration:create deploy with tests and security validation

Example 3: Code Review Workflow

User: "I want to make sure all my changes go through code review and pass linting before merging"

Assistant: "This sounds like a perfect use case for orchestration! I can help you create a review workflow that handles:

• Parallel code review and linting
• Quality gate (both must succeed)
• Manual approval checkpoint
• Automatic merge after approval

Would you like me to guide you through creating this workflow?"

If yes: /orchestration:create code review with linting and approval

Don't Trigger For

Simple single-step tasks:

• "Run the tests" ← just run tests
• "Deploy to production" ← single action
• "Review this code" ← single agent

Already using orchestration syntax:

• User provides workflow syntax directly
• User asks to modify existing workflow

Exploratory questions:

• "What is orchestration?"
• "How does the menu work?"
• "Show me examples"

Integration

This skill makes Claude proactive about suggesting orchestration when appropriate. It works alongside:

• /orchestration:create - Command this skill triggers
• using-orchestration - General guidance skill
• workflow-socratic-designer - Agent this launches

Success Criteria

✅ Claude suggests orchestration for multi-step tasks ✅ Claude identifies parallel opportunities ✅ Claude recognizes conditional logic needs ✅ Claude explains workflow benefits before offering ✅ Claude uses /orchestration:create when user agrees