Catalog / Business processes / Sales / Solution-to-Proposal / Respond to an RFP
reference process · sales · 17 activities · 10 on the rosterRespond to an RFP
A formal request arrives carrying its own rules: a deadline, a format, a channel, page limits, a question window and a list of requirements that each have to be answered. This process reads those rules first, decides whether to bid, and tells the buyer either way. A decline is a real outcome here, written down with the reason, because a bid nobody meant to win costs more than a clean no. A yes splits the requirements to owners, uses the question window, prices the bid, and checks the response against the rules. The run closes at a receipt or a no bid.
The walk
The document
One run
Adoption
The activities
What happens in a run
17 activities from a formal request arrives to the bid is submitted and confirmed, or the no bid is on the record, 2 of them gates a person has to sign. Drag the diagram to move along it.
Respond to an RFP a formal request arrives → the bid is submitted and confirmed, or the no bid is on the record
the answer was no bid an answer changes what a requirement means a requirement is unanswered a limit is broken the price has to change a promise cannot be made no receipt arrives a formal request arrives 1 Take in the Request the document, the buyer, and where it came from 2 Read the Rules It Sets deadline, format, channel, limits, question window 3 Decide Whether to Bid a go or a no, with the reason written down a person signs · never an agent 4 Tell the Buyer Either Way a decline in writing, or intent confirmed 5 Split the Requirements every requirement gets one owner and a date 6 Ask the Buyer's Questions the clarification window used before it closes 7 Answer the Requirements each one answered by the owner of the fact 8 Design the Solution Respo… how the work would actually be done 9 Price the Bid priced against the card and the terms asked for 10 Answer the Security and L… the buyer's standard questions, from the library 11 Write the Narrative the parts the buyer reads rather than scores 12 Check It Against the Rules every requirement answered, every limit obeyed 13 Get the Bid Approved named signers approve the price and the promises a person signs · never an agent 14 Assemble and Submit one submission, in format, before the deadline 15 Confirm Receipt a receipt from the buyer, or it is not in 16 Handle Clarifications the follow-ups, and the presentation if asked 17 Record the Outcome won, lost or no bid, with what was learned the bid is submitted and confirmed, or the no bid is on the record The roster this process needs
Hover a name to see the activities it holds. A dashed one is a person, and stays one.
The document
The document, with the blanks marked
Everything in amber is yours to fill in: who owns it, when it takes effect, which platforms, which numbers, and who holds each activity. Everything else is the process, and it is the same wherever it is run.
PROCESS: respond to an rfp id: <team> /respond-to-an-rfp v1
from: ref/sls/respond-to-an-rfp v1
owner: <who> effective: <date>
trigger: a formal request for proposal, tender or information arrives
at <your intake address> or is found in <your sourcing feed>
watch: record=<request for proposal>
system=<your intake address>
change=<a formal request arrives>
or watch: record=<request for proposal>
system=<your sourcing feed>
change=<a formal request is found>
concurrency: runs may overlap - <how many> bids in flight at once, and
one request is one run from intake to outcome
goal: a submission that answers every requirement, obeys every rule the
request set, and lands before the deadline - or a decline sent in
writing within <days> of the request arriving
phases:
take-in-request - human: the request, the buyer, the channel it
came through, and who inside the organization
first saw it
owner: questionnaire-responder
after: trigger automation: <level>
read-rules - human: the deadline, the format, the channel,
the page and word limits, the question window,
and how the response will be scored
owner: questionnaire-responder
after: take-in-request automation: <level>
decide-to-bid - convenes decide-and-announce: bid or no bid,
decided by <who> against <your bid criteria> ,
with the reason written down either way
owner: <your sales leadership role>
after: read-rules
by: <days> automation: never
tell-the-buyer - human: a decline in writing, or intent to
respond confirmed the way the request asks for
owner: <your account role>
after: decide-to-bid
by: <days> automation: <level>
split-requirements - human: every requirement given one owner, one
date, and the section of the response it lands
in
owner: questionnaire-responder
after: tell-the-buyer automation: <level>
ask-questions - human: the questions the response depends on,
asked through the buyer's own channel before
the window closes on <date>
owner: questionnaire-responder
after: split-requirements
by: <days> automation: <level>
answer-requirements - runs build-by-talent: each requirement answered
by the owner of the fact, in the words the
request asks for
owner: questionnaire-responder
after: split-requirements + ask-questions
by: <days> automation: <level>
design-response - runs build-by-talent: how the work would
actually be done, at the depth the request
scores
owner: solution-architect
after: split-requirements
by: <days> automation: <level>
price-bid - human: the bid priced against the rate card at
its version, on the commercial terms the
request demands
owner: quote-builder after: design-response
by: <days> automation: <level>
answer-security - runs collect-and-report: the buyer's security,
privacy, legal and procurement sections
answered from the library at their versions
owner: standards-keeper
after: answer-requirements
automation: <level>
write-narrative - runs build-by-talent: the summary, the
approach and the references - the parts a
person reads rather than scores
owner: proposal-writer
after: answer-requirements + price-bid +
answer-security
by: <days> automation: <level>
check-compliance - runs assessment: every requirement answered,
every limit obeyed, every form present, scored
against the rules read at the start
owner: questionnaire-responder
after: write-narrative automation: <level>
approve-bid - convenes approval: named signers approve the
price, the commitments and the terms the bid
accepts
owner: <your deal desk role>
after: check-compliance
by: <days> automation: never
submit - human: one submission, in the format, through
the channel the request names, no later than
<hours> before the deadline
owner: <your account role>
after: approve-bid automation: <level>
confirm-receipt - system: the buyer's receipt, reference number
or portal confirmation, recorded against the
submission
owner: questionnaire-responder
after: submit automation: <level>
handle-clarify - human: the buyer's follow-up questions, the
shortlist presentation, and any best and final
offer the buyer asks for
owner: proposal-writer after: confirm-receipt
automation: <level>
record-outcome - convenes debrief: won, lost or no bid, the
score the buyer gave if they give one, and what
to do differently
owner: questionnaire-responder
after: handle-clarify automation: <level>
run-scoped:
countdown - runs roll-call owner: questionnaire-responder
every: <cadence>
from: read-rules until: submit
bid-cost - runs allocate-and-reconcile owner: <your sales
leadership role>
from: decide-to-bid until: run close
handoffs:
take-in-request -> read-rules [the-request]: the request as
received, complete, with every attachment and addendum it arrived
with
read-rules -> decide-to-bid [the-rules]: the deadline, the scoring,
the terms the request imposes, and every requirement the
organization cannot meet
decide-to-bid -> tell-the-buyer [bid-decision]: the decision and
the reason, in the words that go to the buyer
tell-the-buyer -> split-requirements [confirmed-intent]: the
confirmed intent to respond, and the date the buyer expects the
submission
split-requirements -> ask-questions [questions-to-ask]: the
requirements nobody can answer as written, and the date the
question window closes
split-requirements -> answer-requirements [owned-requirements]:
every requirement with its owner, its date and its section
split-requirements -> design-response [work-requirements]: the
requirements that describe the work rather than the company
ask-questions -> answer-requirements [buyer-answers]: the buyer's
answers, as the buyer wrote them, and every question they refused
to answer
design-response -> price-bid [solution-design]: the solution as it
would be delivered, so the price is priced against it
answer-requirements -> answer-security [security-sections]: the
security, privacy and procurement sections, with the questions
already answered elsewhere in the response marked
answer-requirements -> write-narrative [answered-requirements]:
the answered requirements, so the narrative says nothing the
answers contradict
price-bid -> write-narrative [the-price]: the price, the terms, and
every assumption the price depends on
write-narrative -> check-compliance [draft-response]: the complete
response, at a draft version, in the format the request demands
check-compliance -> approve-bid [compliance-result]: the scored
response, with the requirement or the rule behind every failure
approve-bid -> submit [approved-response]: the approved response at
the signed version. A later change voids the approval and approval
runs again
submit -> confirm-receipt [what-was-submitted]: what was submitted,
through which channel, at what time
confirm-receipt -> handle-clarify [the-receipt]: the receipt and
the reference the buyer gave it
handle-clarify -> record-outcome [post-submission]: everything said
after submission, and what the buyer decided
deviations:
tell-the-buyer -> record-outcome [no-bid]: the decision was no bid,
so none of the answering, pricing or submission phases run, and
the run goes straight to the outcome record with the reason
ask-questions -> split-requirements [answer-changes-meaning]: an
answer from the buyer changes what a requirement means, so the
requirements are split again against the new reading
check-compliance -> answer-requirements [requirement-unanswered]:
the check finds a requirement nobody answered, so it goes back to
the owner of the fact with the requirement attached
check-compliance -> write-narrative [limit-broken]: a page or word
limit is broken, so the narrative is written again to fit rather
than the answers being cut
approve-bid -> price-bid [price-must-change]: the signers will not
approve the price, so the bid is priced again before it can be
approved
approve-bid -> design-response [promise-cannot-be-made]: a
commitment in the response is one nobody will stand behind, so the
solution is designed again around what can be promised
confirm-receipt -> submit [no-receipt]: no receipt, reference
number or portal confirmation arrives, so the bid is treated as
not submitted and the submission is made again
bindings:
roster: <who holds each role - agents claiming the abstract agents
above, and named people for the account owner, the sales
leader, the deal desk reviewer and the legal reviewer>
systems: the CRM (write), the bid library (read, write),
the answer library (read), the quoting system (read),
the buyer's portal (write), the approval record (write),
the document store (write)
data: <your bid criteria> <version> , the answer library <version> ,
the rate card <version> , the standard terms <version> ,
<your reference customer list> <version> , the request and
every addendum
policy:
the rules the request sets are read and written down before any
answer is drafted, and a rule found later reopens the compliance
check
no bid is submitted without a decision recorded against <your bid
criteria>, and a no bid is told to the buyer in writing
questions go through the buyer's own channel, and nothing is asked
outside it while the window is open
every requirement gets a named owner, and an unowned requirement
blocks the compliance check
approval is a human gate and is never delegated to an agent
a response changed after approval goes back through approval
the submission lands at least <hours> before the deadline, and a
submission that would miss it is escalated to <who> rather than
rushed
nothing is promised in a bid that <who> has not agreed the
organization will deliver
measures:
cycle time: <days> from the request arriving to the decision to bid
win rate: <target> of bids submitted
no-bid rate: <target> of requests declined, because declining well is
part of the goal
volume: <bids per period>
quality gate: no submission leaves failing its compliance check, and
no bid leaves unsigned
Copy
Take it somewhere
Use this process in LangGraph
close
Paste this into an assistant that can read the web, such as Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor. It reads the specification and the current LangGraph documentation, then writes two files: the graph, and a note on what did not survive the translation. Read the note first. What a runtime cannot express is the part worth arguing about, and this process is a draft to argue with.
copy the prompt
344 lines · the document is inside it, so nothing else is needed
Convert the business process below into a runnable LangGraph graph:
one Python file with a TypedDict state, a StateGraph, nodes, edges,
conditional edges and a checkpointer.
The document is a reference process written to the Agent Processes
specification. Read the specification before you start, because it defines
terms that look ordinary and are not:
https://agentcatalog.com/spec/agent-processes
Sections 6 (the phase graph), 6.5.1 (exception edges), 6.7.1 (deviations),
7 (automation) and 8 (handoffs) are the ones this conversion turns on.
Then read the current documentation for the primitives you will need, rather
than relying on what you remember of the API:
https://docs.langchain.com/oss/python/langgraph/interrupts
interrupt() and Command(resume=), which is how a gate stops a run
https://reference.langchain.com/python/langgraph/graph/state/StateGraph
StateGraph, add_edge, add_conditional_edges, defer
WHAT THE DOCUMENT ASKS FOR
These hold wherever the process lands, and they matter more than style.
1. Each phase under `phases:` becomes one step, and keeps its name.
2. `after:` gives the edges. `after: a + b` is a join and waits for BOTH.
Reading it as "either" is the defect the specification calls out by name.
3. Every handoff carries a key in square brackets. Each key becomes one field
on the run's state, named exactly as the key with hyphens turned into
underscores, and the sentence beside it becomes that field's comment. The key
is the stable name; the sentence is prose that may be rewritten.
4. A phase MUST NOT begin before its inbound handoff exists. Where that is
checkable, check it in the step rather than assuming it.
5. `automation: never` is a gate a person signs. The run stops there and does
not continue until a person's decision comes back. Do not turn one into a
notification, a log line, or an automatic transition, whatever the queue
looks like.
6. Each line under `deviations:` is a backward or sideways edge, returning to
the phase named on the right. The key in brackets names it, and that name
belongs in the code.
7. A phase whose `after:` reads like "X or Y, whichever could not finish" is an
exception edge: it is entered when those phases FAIL, not when they succeed.
Do not wire it as an ordinary successor.
8. Anything in angle brackets is a blank the adopting organization fills in.
Leave each one as a named constant at the top of the file with a TODO. Do not
invent a value, a threshold or a date.
9. Record the document's `from:` line at the top of the file, so it says which
reference process and which version it was generated from.
10. Run-scoped lines under `run-scoped:` are work that runs alongside the whole
process rather than at one point in it, and a run may not close while one is
unfinished. Say in the code what you did about them, including if the answer
is that the runtime has nowhere to put them.
HOW THAT LOOKS IN LANGGRAPH
11. A phase is a node added with `add_node`, under the phase's own name.
12. The state is a TypedDict. Each handoff key is one field on it.
13. A join is the trap. `add_edge(["a", "b"], "c")` looks right and releases
once: when a backward edge re-enters ONE arm, the joined node never runs
again, and the run ends early reporting success rather than raising. Mark the
joined node `defer=True` and re-check inside it that both inbound handoffs
exist.
14. A gate is `interrupt()` inside the node, resumed with `Command(resume=...)`.
The platform lets anything at all call resume, so require the resumed value to
name a person and a date and refuse anything else. Say in the fidelity note
that this proves only that whoever resumed typed a name, because
`Command(resume=True)` from a scheduled job is indistinguishable from a person
signing.
15. A deviation is `add_conditional_edges` with a routing function named after
the key in brackets.
16. Pass a durable checkpointer rather than taking the in-memory default. The
gates wait days, and the default loses every paused run on restart.
17. Leave every phase body unimplemented, raising until somebody registers an
implementation. The automation level is a blank, so writing a body would
answer on the adopter's behalf whether an agent may do that work.
Produce a second file alongside it, `FIDELITY.md`, and treat it as the more
important of the two. The code is for whoever builds this. The fidelity note
is for whoever has to decide whether this platform suits the process at all,
and that is usually a different person who will never read the code.
It has three parts.
**What came across.** Briefly: how many phases became steps, how many handoff
keys became state fields, which gates stop the run, which deviations became
edges. Counts and names, not reassurance.
**What did not, and what was done instead.** One entry per gap. For each one,
say what the document requires, what the platform can actually express, what
you did in its place, and what breaks if somebody later removes your
workaround. This last part matters most: a workaround nobody understands is a
workaround somebody deletes.
**What a person still has to decide.** The blanks are not a translation
failure, they are the point of a reference process, so list what has to be
filled in before this could run against anything real, and say which of those
choices the platform constrains.
Write it in plain English for somebody who has not read the specification, and
do not soften it. A translation of a reference process is a draft to argue
with, not a build artifact, and the honest account of what was lost is the most
useful thing you will produce.
Here is the process document.
```
PROCESS: respond to an rfp id: <team>/respond-to-an-rfp v1
from: ref/sls/respond-to-an-rfp v1
owner: <who> effective: <date>
trigger: a formal request for proposal, tender or information arrives
at <your intake address> or is found in <your sourcing feed>
watch: record=<request for proposal>
system=<your intake address>
change=<a formal request arrives>
or watch: record=<request for proposal>
system=<your sourcing feed>
change=<a formal request is found>
concurrency: runs may overlap - <how many> bids in flight at once, and
one request is one run from intake to outcome
goal: a submission that answers every requirement, obeys every rule the
request set, and lands before the deadline - or a decline sent in
writing within <days> of the request arriving
phases:
take-in-request - human: the request, the buyer, the channel it
came through, and who inside the organization
first saw it
owner: questionnaire-responder
after: trigger automation: <level>
read-rules - human: the deadline, the format, the channel,
the page and word limits, the question window,
and how the response will be scored
owner: questionnaire-responder
after: take-in-request automation: <level>
decide-to-bid - convenes decide-and-announce: bid or no bid,
decided by <who> against <your bid criteria>,
with the reason written down either way
owner: <your sales leadership role>
after: read-rules
by: <days> automation: never
tell-the-buyer - human: a decline in writing, or intent to
respond confirmed the way the request asks for
owner: <your account role>
after: decide-to-bid
by: <days> automation: <level>
split-requirements - human: every requirement given one owner, one
date, and the section of the response it lands
in
owner: questionnaire-responder
after: tell-the-buyer automation: <level>
ask-questions - human: the questions the response depends on,
asked through the buyer's own channel before
the window closes on <date>
owner: questionnaire-responder
after: split-requirements
by: <days> automation: <level>
answer-requirements - runs build-by-talent: each requirement answered
by the owner of the fact, in the words the
request asks for
owner: questionnaire-responder
after: split-requirements + ask-questions
by: <days> automation: <level>
design-response - runs build-by-talent: how the work would
actually be done, at the depth the request
scores
owner: solution-architect
after: split-requirements
by: <days> automation: <level>
price-bid - human: the bid priced against the rate card at
its version, on the commercial terms the
request demands
owner: quote-builder after: design-response
by: <days> automation: <level>
answer-security - runs collect-and-report: the buyer's security,
privacy, legal and procurement sections
answered from the library at their versions
owner: standards-keeper
after: answer-requirements
automation: <level>
write-narrative - runs build-by-talent: the summary, the
approach and the references - the parts a
person reads rather than scores
owner: proposal-writer
after: answer-requirements + price-bid +
answer-security
by: <days> automation: <level>
check-compliance - runs assessment: every requirement answered,
every limit obeyed, every form present, scored
against the rules read at the start
owner: questionnaire-responder
after: write-narrative automation: <level>
approve-bid - convenes approval: named signers approve the
price, the commitments and the terms the bid
accepts
owner: <your deal desk role>
after: check-compliance
by: <days> automation: never
submit - human: one submission, in the format, through
the channel the request names, no later than
<hours> before the deadline
owner: <your account role>
after: approve-bid automation: <level>
confirm-receipt - system: the buyer's receipt, reference number
or portal confirmation, recorded against the
submission
owner: questionnaire-responder
after: submit automation: <level>
handle-clarify - human: the buyer's follow-up questions, the
shortlist presentation, and any best and final
offer the buyer asks for
owner: proposal-writer after: confirm-receipt
automation: <level>
record-outcome - convenes debrief: won, lost or no bid, the
score the buyer gave if they give one, and what
to do differently
owner: questionnaire-responder
after: handle-clarify automation: <level>
run-scoped:
countdown - runs roll-call owner: questionnaire-responder
every: <cadence>
from: read-rules until: submit
bid-cost - runs allocate-and-reconcile owner: <your sales
leadership role>
from: decide-to-bid until: run close
handoffs:
take-in-request -> read-rules [the-request]: the request as
received, complete, with every attachment and addendum it arrived
with
read-rules -> decide-to-bid [the-rules]: the deadline, the scoring,
the terms the request imposes, and every requirement the
organization cannot meet
decide-to-bid -> tell-the-buyer [bid-decision]: the decision and
the reason, in the words that go to the buyer
tell-the-buyer -> split-requirements [confirmed-intent]: the
confirmed intent to respond, and the date the buyer expects the
submission
split-requirements -> ask-questions [questions-to-ask]: the
requirements nobody can answer as written, and the date the
question window closes
split-requirements -> answer-requirements [owned-requirements]:
every requirement with its owner, its date and its section
split-requirements -> design-response [work-requirements]: the
requirements that describe the work rather than the company
ask-questions -> answer-requirements [buyer-answers]: the buyer's
answers, as the buyer wrote them, and every question they refused
to answer
design-response -> price-bid [solution-design]: the solution as it
would be delivered, so the price is priced against it
answer-requirements -> answer-security [security-sections]: the
security, privacy and procurement sections, with the questions
already answered elsewhere in the response marked
answer-requirements -> write-narrative [answered-requirements]:
the answered requirements, so the narrative says nothing the
answers contradict
price-bid -> write-narrative [the-price]: the price, the terms, and
every assumption the price depends on
write-narrative -> check-compliance [draft-response]: the complete
response, at a draft version, in the format the request demands
check-compliance -> approve-bid [compliance-result]: the scored
response, with the requirement or the rule behind every failure
approve-bid -> submit [approved-response]: the approved response at
the signed version. A later change voids the approval and approval
runs again
submit -> confirm-receipt [what-was-submitted]: what was submitted,
through which channel, at what time
confirm-receipt -> handle-clarify [the-receipt]: the receipt and
the reference the buyer gave it
handle-clarify -> record-outcome [post-submission]: everything said
after submission, and what the buyer decided
deviations:
tell-the-buyer -> record-outcome [no-bid]: the decision was no bid,
so none of the answering, pricing or submission phases run, and
the run goes straight to the outcome record with the reason
ask-questions -> split-requirements [answer-changes-meaning]: an
answer from the buyer changes what a requirement means, so the
requirements are split again against the new reading
check-compliance -> answer-requirements [requirement-unanswered]:
the check finds a requirement nobody answered, so it goes back to
the owner of the fact with the requirement attached
check-compliance -> write-narrative [limit-broken]: a page or word
limit is broken, so the narrative is written again to fit rather
than the answers being cut
approve-bid -> price-bid [price-must-change]: the signers will not
approve the price, so the bid is priced again before it can be
approved
approve-bid -> design-response [promise-cannot-be-made]: a
commitment in the response is one nobody will stand behind, so the
solution is designed again around what can be promised
confirm-receipt -> submit [no-receipt]: no receipt, reference
number or portal confirmation arrives, so the bid is treated as
not submitted and the submission is made again
bindings:
roster: <who holds each role - agents claiming the abstract agents
above, and named people for the account owner, the sales
leader, the deal desk reviewer and the legal reviewer>
systems: the CRM (write), the bid library (read, write),
the answer library (read), the quoting system (read),
the buyer's portal (write), the approval record (write),
the document store (write)
data: <your bid criteria> <version>, the answer library <version>,
the rate card <version>, the standard terms <version>,
<your reference customer list> <version>, the request and
every addendum
policy:
the rules the request sets are read and written down before any
answer is drafted, and a rule found later reopens the compliance
check
no bid is submitted without a decision recorded against <your bid
criteria>, and a no bid is told to the buyer in writing
questions go through the buyer's own channel, and nothing is asked
outside it while the window is open
every requirement gets a named owner, and an unowned requirement
blocks the compliance check
approval is a human gate and is never delegated to an agent
a response changed after approval goes back through approval
the submission lands at least <hours> before the deadline, and a
submission that would miss it is escalated to <who> rather than
rushed
nothing is promised in a bid that <who> has not agreed the
organization will deliver
measures:
cycle time: <days> from the request arriving to the decision to bid
win rate: <target> of bids submitted
no-bid rate: <target> of requests declined, because declining well is
part of the goal
volume: <bids per period>
quality gate: no submission leaves failing its compliance check, and
no bid leaves unsigned
```
Take it somewhere
Use this process in Microsoft Agent Framework
close
Paste this into an assistant that can read the web, such as Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor. It reads the specification and the current Agent Framework documentation, then writes two files: the workflow, and a note on what did not survive the translation. Read the note first. What a runtime cannot express is the part worth arguing about, and this process is a draft to argue with.
copy the prompt
399 lines · the document is inside it, so nothing else is needed
Convert the business process below into a runnable Microsoft Agent Framework workflow:
one Python file with Executor classes, a WorkflowBuilder, typed edges,
request_info gates and durable checkpoint storage.
The document is a reference process written to the Agent Processes
specification. Read the specification before you start, because it defines
terms that look ordinary and are not:
https://agentcatalog.com/spec/agent-processes
Sections 6 (the phase graph), 6.5.1 (exception edges), 6.7.1 (deviations),
7 (automation) and 8 (handoffs) are the ones this conversion turns on.
Then read the current documentation for the primitives you will need, rather
than relying on what you remember of the API:
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/agent-framework/workflows/human-in-the-loop
ctx.request_info, @response_handler, and answering a parked run later
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/agent-framework/workflows/checkpoints
what a checkpoint holds, and allowed_checkpoint_types
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/agent-framework/concepts/workflows/edges
add_edge with condition, add_fan_in_edges, add_switch_case_edge_group
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/agent-framework/concepts/workflows/state
ctx.set_state and ctx.get_state as they actually are today
WHAT THE DOCUMENT ASKS FOR
These hold wherever the process lands, and they matter more than style.
1. Each phase under `phases:` becomes one step, and keeps its name.
2. `after:` gives the edges. `after: a + b` is a join and waits for BOTH.
Reading it as "either" is the defect the specification calls out by name.
3. Every handoff carries a key in square brackets. Each key becomes one field
on the run's state, named exactly as the key with hyphens turned into
underscores, and the sentence beside it becomes that field's comment. The key
is the stable name; the sentence is prose that may be rewritten.
4. A phase MUST NOT begin before its inbound handoff exists. Where that is
checkable, check it in the step rather than assuming it.
5. `automation: never` is a gate a person signs. The run stops there and does
not continue until a person's decision comes back. Do not turn one into a
notification, a log line, or an automatic transition, whatever the queue
looks like.
6. Each line under `deviations:` is a backward or sideways edge, returning to
the phase named on the right. The key in brackets names it, and that name
belongs in the code.
7. A phase whose `after:` reads like "X or Y, whichever could not finish" is an
exception edge: it is entered when those phases FAIL, not when they succeed.
Do not wire it as an ordinary successor.
8. Anything in angle brackets is a blank the adopting organization fills in.
Leave each one as a named constant at the top of the file with a TODO. Do not
invent a value, a threshold or a date.
9. Record the document's `from:` line at the top of the file, so it says which
reference process and which version it was generated from.
10. Run-scoped lines under `run-scoped:` are work that runs alongside the whole
process rather than at one point in it, and a run may not close while one is
unfinished. Say in the code what you did about them, including if the answer
is that the runtime has nowhere to put them.
HOW THAT LOOKS IN MICROSOFT AGENT FRAMEWORK
11. Write for Python, and read those pages before writing a line. This API has
moved: `set_shared_state`, `RequestInfoExecutor`, `RequestInfoMessage` and
`send_responses_streaming` are all in the training data and none of them exist
any more. The .NET workflow API differs in kind rather than in spelling, so a
file written for one does not port by renaming.
12. A phase is a class deriving from `Executor` whose `super().__init__(id=...)`
takes the phase name verbatim. The id is not cosmetic: a checkpoint stores a
signature over the topology and the executor ids, so an id built from a run, a
timestamp or a counter cannot be resumed into.
13. Give each phase a `@handler` method and move work on with
`await ctx.send_message(...)`. A handler that returns without sending is a dead
end: the branch stops, the run converges, and it reports success. So a phase
you are deliberately leaving unimplemented must still send a placeholder
onward. Do not stub with `raise NotImplementedError`, which fails the run
instead of leaving it runnable.
14. `after: a` is `builder.add_edge(a, b)`. `after: a + b` is
`builder.add_fan_in_edges([a, b], target)`, and the target's handler must be
annotated `list[T]`, because a fan-in delivers one aggregated list rather than
the separate messages. A handler typed for the single value is dropped as a
mismatch with nothing raised.
15. The join is the trap here, and it is the opposite of LangGraph's. The
barrier re-arms: it clears its buffer when it fires and then demands a fresh
message from every source. So a deviation that re-enters ONE arm parks the
run forever waiting for an arm that will not run again, and the workflow ends
IDLE reporting success. Wherever a deviation re-enters one arm of a join,
replace the barrier with an ordinary edge from each arm into a small executor
that records each arrival with `ctx.set_state` and only forwards when every
expected key is present, and say in a comment that putting `add_fan_in_edges`
back reintroduces the stall.
16. A phase that is both a join target and a deviation target needs two
handlers, one annotated `list[T]` for the barrier and one annotated `T` for the
backward message. Write only the list handler and every backward edge into it
is discarded as a type mismatch, silently.
17. `automation: never` is `await ctx.request_info(request_data=...,
response_type=...)` inside the phase, answered by a `@response_handler` on the
same executor whose annotations match those exact types. The run parks at
`IDLE_WITH_PENDING_REQUESTS` and the host answers with
`workflow.run(stream=True, responses={request_id: value})`. If no handler
matches the pair, the framework logs a warning and parks anyway, so the gate
reads as working right up until somebody asks why the approval did not take.
18. A gate is only a gate if the wait survives a restart, so pass
`checkpoint_storage=FileCheckpointStorage(...)` to the builder. Checkpointing
is off by default and `InMemoryCheckpointStorage` reads as configured while
persisting nothing. Register every handoff payload type in
`allowed_checkpoint_types`, or the first restore raises. Anything an executor
keeps as an instance attribute is absent after a restore unless you export it
from `on_checkpoint_save` and read it back in `on_checkpoint_restore`, and it
comes back empty rather than missing.
19. Each line under `deviations:` is `builder.add_edge(source, earlier,
condition=fn)` with `fn` named after the key. Cycles are legal and unchecked,
but raise `max_iterations` well above its default of 100, because several live
cycles will exhaust a budget sized for a straight line and fail with a message
about convergence that reads like a broken graph. Keep the ordinary forward
edge unconditional and add each deviation beside it: a condition that returns
false is dropped with no event, so a forward path expressed as a condition
dies silently on every normal run, which is most of them.
20. Handoff values go in `ctx.set_state(key, value)` and come back from
`ctx.get_state(key)`, untyped and unchecked. A write is visible to its writer
at once and to everyone else only in the next superstep, and two writers of one
key in a superstep keep the last write. Never read a key in the same superstep
another phase wrote it.
21. There are no timers, no deadlines and no scheduled wakes. Nothing in
`run-scoped:` becomes an executor and `by:` has no expression at all, so write
them as comments naming where they start and stop, and say plainly in the
fidelity note that a run can close over an unfinished run-scoped line. Do not
fake a deadline with a sleep inside a handler, which blocks the whole superstep
barrier, and never let an expiring wait release a gate.
Produce a second file alongside it, `FIDELITY.md`, and treat it as the more
important of the two. The code is for whoever builds this. The fidelity note
is for whoever has to decide whether this platform suits the process at all,
and that is usually a different person who will never read the code.
It has three parts.
**What came across.** Briefly: how many phases became steps, how many handoff
keys became state fields, which gates stop the run, which deviations became
edges. Counts and names, not reassurance.
**What did not, and what was done instead.** One entry per gap. For each one,
say what the document requires, what the platform can actually express, what
you did in its place, and what breaks if somebody later removes your
workaround. This last part matters most: a workaround nobody understands is a
workaround somebody deletes.
**What a person still has to decide.** The blanks are not a translation
failure, they are the point of a reference process, so list what has to be
filled in before this could run against anything real, and say which of those
choices the platform constrains.
Write it in plain English for somebody who has not read the specification, and
do not soften it. A translation of a reference process is a draft to argue
with, not a build artifact, and the honest account of what was lost is the most
useful thing you will produce.
Here is the process document.
```
PROCESS: respond to an rfp id: <team>/respond-to-an-rfp v1
from: ref/sls/respond-to-an-rfp v1
owner: <who> effective: <date>
trigger: a formal request for proposal, tender or information arrives
at <your intake address> or is found in <your sourcing feed>
watch: record=<request for proposal>
system=<your intake address>
change=<a formal request arrives>
or watch: record=<request for proposal>
system=<your sourcing feed>
change=<a formal request is found>
concurrency: runs may overlap - <how many> bids in flight at once, and
one request is one run from intake to outcome
goal: a submission that answers every requirement, obeys every rule the
request set, and lands before the deadline - or a decline sent in
writing within <days> of the request arriving
phases:
take-in-request - human: the request, the buyer, the channel it
came through, and who inside the organization
first saw it
owner: questionnaire-responder
after: trigger automation: <level>
read-rules - human: the deadline, the format, the channel,
the page and word limits, the question window,
and how the response will be scored
owner: questionnaire-responder
after: take-in-request automation: <level>
decide-to-bid - convenes decide-and-announce: bid or no bid,
decided by <who> against <your bid criteria>,
with the reason written down either way
owner: <your sales leadership role>
after: read-rules
by: <days> automation: never
tell-the-buyer - human: a decline in writing, or intent to
respond confirmed the way the request asks for
owner: <your account role>
after: decide-to-bid
by: <days> automation: <level>
split-requirements - human: every requirement given one owner, one
date, and the section of the response it lands
in
owner: questionnaire-responder
after: tell-the-buyer automation: <level>
ask-questions - human: the questions the response depends on,
asked through the buyer's own channel before
the window closes on <date>
owner: questionnaire-responder
after: split-requirements
by: <days> automation: <level>
answer-requirements - runs build-by-talent: each requirement answered
by the owner of the fact, in the words the
request asks for
owner: questionnaire-responder
after: split-requirements + ask-questions
by: <days> automation: <level>
design-response - runs build-by-talent: how the work would
actually be done, at the depth the request
scores
owner: solution-architect
after: split-requirements
by: <days> automation: <level>
price-bid - human: the bid priced against the rate card at
its version, on the commercial terms the
request demands
owner: quote-builder after: design-response
by: <days> automation: <level>
answer-security - runs collect-and-report: the buyer's security,
privacy, legal and procurement sections
answered from the library at their versions
owner: standards-keeper
after: answer-requirements
automation: <level>
write-narrative - runs build-by-talent: the summary, the
approach and the references - the parts a
person reads rather than scores
owner: proposal-writer
after: answer-requirements + price-bid +
answer-security
by: <days> automation: <level>
check-compliance - runs assessment: every requirement answered,
every limit obeyed, every form present, scored
against the rules read at the start
owner: questionnaire-responder
after: write-narrative automation: <level>
approve-bid - convenes approval: named signers approve the
price, the commitments and the terms the bid
accepts
owner: <your deal desk role>
after: check-compliance
by: <days> automation: never
submit - human: one submission, in the format, through
the channel the request names, no later than
<hours> before the deadline
owner: <your account role>
after: approve-bid automation: <level>
confirm-receipt - system: the buyer's receipt, reference number
or portal confirmation, recorded against the
submission
owner: questionnaire-responder
after: submit automation: <level>
handle-clarify - human: the buyer's follow-up questions, the
shortlist presentation, and any best and final
offer the buyer asks for
owner: proposal-writer after: confirm-receipt
automation: <level>
record-outcome - convenes debrief: won, lost or no bid, the
score the buyer gave if they give one, and what
to do differently
owner: questionnaire-responder
after: handle-clarify automation: <level>
run-scoped:
countdown - runs roll-call owner: questionnaire-responder
every: <cadence>
from: read-rules until: submit
bid-cost - runs allocate-and-reconcile owner: <your sales
leadership role>
from: decide-to-bid until: run close
handoffs:
take-in-request -> read-rules [the-request]: the request as
received, complete, with every attachment and addendum it arrived
with
read-rules -> decide-to-bid [the-rules]: the deadline, the scoring,
the terms the request imposes, and every requirement the
organization cannot meet
decide-to-bid -> tell-the-buyer [bid-decision]: the decision and
the reason, in the words that go to the buyer
tell-the-buyer -> split-requirements [confirmed-intent]: the
confirmed intent to respond, and the date the buyer expects the
submission
split-requirements -> ask-questions [questions-to-ask]: the
requirements nobody can answer as written, and the date the
question window closes
split-requirements -> answer-requirements [owned-requirements]:
every requirement with its owner, its date and its section
split-requirements -> design-response [work-requirements]: the
requirements that describe the work rather than the company
ask-questions -> answer-requirements [buyer-answers]: the buyer's
answers, as the buyer wrote them, and every question they refused
to answer
design-response -> price-bid [solution-design]: the solution as it
would be delivered, so the price is priced against it
answer-requirements -> answer-security [security-sections]: the
security, privacy and procurement sections, with the questions
already answered elsewhere in the response marked
answer-requirements -> write-narrative [answered-requirements]:
the answered requirements, so the narrative says nothing the
answers contradict
price-bid -> write-narrative [the-price]: the price, the terms, and
every assumption the price depends on
write-narrative -> check-compliance [draft-response]: the complete
response, at a draft version, in the format the request demands
check-compliance -> approve-bid [compliance-result]: the scored
response, with the requirement or the rule behind every failure
approve-bid -> submit [approved-response]: the approved response at
the signed version. A later change voids the approval and approval
runs again
submit -> confirm-receipt [what-was-submitted]: what was submitted,
through which channel, at what time
confirm-receipt -> handle-clarify [the-receipt]: the receipt and
the reference the buyer gave it
handle-clarify -> record-outcome [post-submission]: everything said
after submission, and what the buyer decided
deviations:
tell-the-buyer -> record-outcome [no-bid]: the decision was no bid,
so none of the answering, pricing or submission phases run, and
the run goes straight to the outcome record with the reason
ask-questions -> split-requirements [answer-changes-meaning]: an
answer from the buyer changes what a requirement means, so the
requirements are split again against the new reading
check-compliance -> answer-requirements [requirement-unanswered]:
the check finds a requirement nobody answered, so it goes back to
the owner of the fact with the requirement attached
check-compliance -> write-narrative [limit-broken]: a page or word
limit is broken, so the narrative is written again to fit rather
than the answers being cut
approve-bid -> price-bid [price-must-change]: the signers will not
approve the price, so the bid is priced again before it can be
approved
approve-bid -> design-response [promise-cannot-be-made]: a
commitment in the response is one nobody will stand behind, so the
solution is designed again around what can be promised
confirm-receipt -> submit [no-receipt]: no receipt, reference
number or portal confirmation arrives, so the bid is treated as
not submitted and the submission is made again
bindings:
roster: <who holds each role - agents claiming the abstract agents
above, and named people for the account owner, the sales
leader, the deal desk reviewer and the legal reviewer>
systems: the CRM (write), the bid library (read, write),
the answer library (read), the quoting system (read),
the buyer's portal (write), the approval record (write),
the document store (write)
data: <your bid criteria> <version>, the answer library <version>,
the rate card <version>, the standard terms <version>,
<your reference customer list> <version>, the request and
every addendum
policy:
the rules the request sets are read and written down before any
answer is drafted, and a rule found later reopens the compliance
check
no bid is submitted without a decision recorded against <your bid
criteria>, and a no bid is told to the buyer in writing
questions go through the buyer's own channel, and nothing is asked
outside it while the window is open
every requirement gets a named owner, and an unowned requirement
blocks the compliance check
approval is a human gate and is never delegated to an agent
a response changed after approval goes back through approval
the submission lands at least <hours> before the deadline, and a
submission that would miss it is escalated to <who> rather than
rushed
nothing is promised in a bid that <who> has not agreed the
organization will deliver
measures:
cycle time: <days> from the request arriving to the decision to bid
win rate: <target> of bids submitted
no-bid rate: <target> of requests declined, because declining well is
part of the goal
volume: <bids per period>
quality gate: no submission leaves failing its compliance check, and
no bid leaves unsigned
```
Take it somewhere
Use this process in CrewAI Flows
close
Paste this into an assistant that can read the web, such as Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor. It reads the specification and the current CrewAI documentation, then writes two files: the flow, and a note on what did not survive the translation. Read the note first. What a runtime cannot express is the part worth arguing about, and this process is a draft to argue with.
copy the prompt
404 lines · the document is inside it, so nothing else is needed
Convert the business process below into a runnable CrewAI Flow:
one Python file with a Pydantic state model, one Flow subclass, @start,
@listen, @router and a durable human feedback provider.
The document is a reference process written to the Agent Processes
specification. Read the specification before you start, because it defines
terms that look ordinary and are not:
https://agentcatalog.com/spec/agent-processes
Sections 6 (the phase graph), 6.5.1 (exception edges), 6.7.1 (deviations),
7 (automation) and 8 (handoffs) are the ones this conversion turns on.
Then read the current documentation for the primitives you will need, rather
than relying on what you remember of the API:
https://docs.crewai.com/en/concepts/flows
Flow, @start, @listen, @router, and_, or_, state, kickoff, plot
https://docs.crewai.com/en/learn/human-feedback-in-flows
@human_feedback, the provider protocol, from_pending and resume
https://docs.crewai.com/en/guides/flows/mastering-flow-state
@persist and what persistence actually promises, which is less than it sounds
WHAT THE DOCUMENT ASKS FOR
These hold wherever the process lands, and they matter more than style.
1. Each phase under `phases:` becomes one step, and keeps its name.
2. `after:` gives the edges. `after: a + b` is a join and waits for BOTH.
Reading it as "either" is the defect the specification calls out by name.
3. Every handoff carries a key in square brackets. Each key becomes one field
on the run's state, named exactly as the key with hyphens turned into
underscores, and the sentence beside it becomes that field's comment. The key
is the stable name; the sentence is prose that may be rewritten.
4. A phase MUST NOT begin before its inbound handoff exists. Where that is
checkable, check it in the step rather than assuming it.
5. `automation: never` is a gate a person signs. The run stops there and does
not continue until a person's decision comes back. Do not turn one into a
notification, a log line, or an automatic transition, whatever the queue
looks like.
6. Each line under `deviations:` is a backward or sideways edge, returning to
the phase named on the right. The key in brackets names it, and that name
belongs in the code.
7. A phase whose `after:` reads like "X or Y, whichever could not finish" is an
exception edge: it is entered when those phases FAIL, not when they succeed.
Do not wire it as an ordinary successor.
8. Anything in angle brackets is a blank the adopting organization fills in.
Leave each one as a named constant at the top of the file with a TODO. Do not
invent a value, a threshold or a date.
9. Record the document's `from:` line at the top of the file, so it says which
reference process and which version it was generated from.
10. Run-scoped lines under `run-scoped:` are work that runs alongside the whole
process rather than at one point in it, and a run may not close while one is
unfinished. Say in the code what you did about them, including if the answer
is that the runtime has nowhere to put them.
HOW THAT LOOKS IN CREWAI FLOWS
11. Build a Flow, not a Crew. A Crew is a team of roles with no graph, no join,
no persistence handle and no gate, and cannot express this document at all.
Each phase is one method on a single `Flow` subclass, keeping its name with
hyphens turned into underscores. A phase that genuinely needs role-based agents
builds its own Crew inside its own method body, and the Flow stays the graph.
12. Declare the state as a Pydantic model bound as the type parameter,
`class NegotiateTheAgreement(Flow[NegotiationState])`, and read and write
`self.state.field`. Never use the untyped dict form: the handoff keys are this
process's memory, and an untyped dict turns a misspelt key into a handoff that
is silently absent. Keep the auto-injected `id` field, which is what every
resume depends on.
13. `after: a` is `@listen(a)`. `after: a + b` is `@listen(and_(a, b))`. Never
write `or_` where the document writes `+`.
14. Check every inbound handoff at the top of the method and raise if one is
missing. `@listen` says when a method may run and says nothing about what is
in hand when it does.
15. The join is the trap, and it is proven rather than theoretical. `and_()`
empties its accumulator the moment it fires, so re-entering BOTH arms works
forever, and re-entering ONE arm after it has fired leaves it holding a single
trigger and waiting for the other for good. The cascade drains, CrewAI prints
that the flow completed, and `kickoff()` returns normally. So for any joining
phase that a deviation can send work back into, do not use `and_()` at all:
make the join a `@router` that both arms trigger, which reads the state fields
and emits its label only when every inbound handoff is present. A router is
re-evaluated against durable state every time and is never suppressed by the
once-fired set.
16. Do not write a phase as `@listen(or_(and_(a, b), "some_label"))`. There is
one accumulator per listener, shared across every branch of its condition and
wiped when any branch satisfies, so the label firing while the join is half
full erases the arm that had already arrived.
17. `automation: never` is `@human_feedback(message=..., provider=...)` stacked
under the method's `@listen`, with a provider whose `request_feedback` raises
`HumanFeedbackPending`. The run then persists, returns that object from
`kickoff()`, and a different process answers later with `from_pending(flow_id,
persistence)` and `resume(text)`. Do not take the default `ConsoleProvider`,
which calls `input()`: that gate exists only while somebody is watching a
terminal, and a run started by a scheduler either hangs or takes an empty
string.
18. Silence must not approve, and the platform's default is that it does. With
`emit=[...]` set, an empty resume collapses to `default_outcome`, or to the
first label when that is unset, with no model consulted and nobody named. Treat
an empty or unrecognised answer as a refusal in your own router. And write the
approver's name and the time onto the state yourself, because
`HumanFeedbackResult` carries the text, the outcome and a timestamp but has no
field for the person, which the specification requires.
19. Each line under `deviations:` is a `@router` named after the key, returning
a label named after the same key, with the target subscribing as
`@listen(or_(normal_trigger, "the_label"))`. Route rather than listen
directly, because a router is re-evaluated on every cycle while a top-level
`or_` listener is suppressed after it first fires.
20. An exception edge is a `try` and `except` around the failing phase's body,
recording the failure on the state and emitting an exception label from a
router. Wiring it as `@listen(or_(x, y))` fires when those phases SUCCEED, so
the clearing phase would run on every healthy run.
21. An unimplemented phase is a method with the document's own sentence as its
docstring and a bare `pass`, which is safe because listeners still fire on a
`None` return. An unimplemented `@router` is not safe: returning `None` emits
no label, every phase below it disappears from the run including the gates, and
the flow reports success. A stub router must return a hard-coded label with a
TODO beside it, or raise.
22. Turn persistence on with `@persist(SQLiteFlowPersistence(...))`, then treat
every phase that performs a real act as something that will run twice.
Persistence saves the state fields and nothing else, so a restart rehydrates
the data and runs the graph again from `@start`: a flow that had already sent a
written refusal sends a second one. Guard each acting phase with a state field
it checks and sets.
23. There are no timers, no deadlines and no cadences, and `run-scoped:` has no
counterpart at all. Put each `by:` value as a named constant, name the
run-scoped lines in the module docstring as unimplemented obligations, and say
in the fidelity note that no deadline in this document is enforced by anything.
These absences produce no diagnostic whatsoever, which is exactly why they have
to be written down.
Produce a second file alongside it, `FIDELITY.md`, and treat it as the more
important of the two. The code is for whoever builds this. The fidelity note
is for whoever has to decide whether this platform suits the process at all,
and that is usually a different person who will never read the code.
It has three parts.
**What came across.** Briefly: how many phases became steps, how many handoff
keys became state fields, which gates stop the run, which deviations became
edges. Counts and names, not reassurance.
**What did not, and what was done instead.** One entry per gap. For each one,
say what the document requires, what the platform can actually express, what
you did in its place, and what breaks if somebody later removes your
workaround. This last part matters most: a workaround nobody understands is a
workaround somebody deletes.
**What a person still has to decide.** The blanks are not a translation
failure, they are the point of a reference process, so list what has to be
filled in before this could run against anything real, and say which of those
choices the platform constrains.
Write it in plain English for somebody who has not read the specification, and
do not soften it. A translation of a reference process is a draft to argue
with, not a build artifact, and the honest account of what was lost is the most
useful thing you will produce.
Here is the process document.
```
PROCESS: respond to an rfp id: <team>/respond-to-an-rfp v1
from: ref/sls/respond-to-an-rfp v1
owner: <who> effective: <date>
trigger: a formal request for proposal, tender or information arrives
at <your intake address> or is found in <your sourcing feed>
watch: record=<request for proposal>
system=<your intake address>
change=<a formal request arrives>
or watch: record=<request for proposal>
system=<your sourcing feed>
change=<a formal request is found>
concurrency: runs may overlap - <how many> bids in flight at once, and
one request is one run from intake to outcome
goal: a submission that answers every requirement, obeys every rule the
request set, and lands before the deadline - or a decline sent in
writing within <days> of the request arriving
phases:
take-in-request - human: the request, the buyer, the channel it
came through, and who inside the organization
first saw it
owner: questionnaire-responder
after: trigger automation: <level>
read-rules - human: the deadline, the format, the channel,
the page and word limits, the question window,
and how the response will be scored
owner: questionnaire-responder
after: take-in-request automation: <level>
decide-to-bid - convenes decide-and-announce: bid or no bid,
decided by <who> against <your bid criteria>,
with the reason written down either way
owner: <your sales leadership role>
after: read-rules
by: <days> automation: never
tell-the-buyer - human: a decline in writing, or intent to
respond confirmed the way the request asks for
owner: <your account role>
after: decide-to-bid
by: <days> automation: <level>
split-requirements - human: every requirement given one owner, one
date, and the section of the response it lands
in
owner: questionnaire-responder
after: tell-the-buyer automation: <level>
ask-questions - human: the questions the response depends on,
asked through the buyer's own channel before
the window closes on <date>
owner: questionnaire-responder
after: split-requirements
by: <days> automation: <level>
answer-requirements - runs build-by-talent: each requirement answered
by the owner of the fact, in the words the
request asks for
owner: questionnaire-responder
after: split-requirements + ask-questions
by: <days> automation: <level>
design-response - runs build-by-talent: how the work would
actually be done, at the depth the request
scores
owner: solution-architect
after: split-requirements
by: <days> automation: <level>
price-bid - human: the bid priced against the rate card at
its version, on the commercial terms the
request demands
owner: quote-builder after: design-response
by: <days> automation: <level>
answer-security - runs collect-and-report: the buyer's security,
privacy, legal and procurement sections
answered from the library at their versions
owner: standards-keeper
after: answer-requirements
automation: <level>
write-narrative - runs build-by-talent: the summary, the
approach and the references - the parts a
person reads rather than scores
owner: proposal-writer
after: answer-requirements + price-bid +
answer-security
by: <days> automation: <level>
check-compliance - runs assessment: every requirement answered,
every limit obeyed, every form present, scored
against the rules read at the start
owner: questionnaire-responder
after: write-narrative automation: <level>
approve-bid - convenes approval: named signers approve the
price, the commitments and the terms the bid
accepts
owner: <your deal desk role>
after: check-compliance
by: <days> automation: never
submit - human: one submission, in the format, through
the channel the request names, no later than
<hours> before the deadline
owner: <your account role>
after: approve-bid automation: <level>
confirm-receipt - system: the buyer's receipt, reference number
or portal confirmation, recorded against the
submission
owner: questionnaire-responder
after: submit automation: <level>
handle-clarify - human: the buyer's follow-up questions, the
shortlist presentation, and any best and final
offer the buyer asks for
owner: proposal-writer after: confirm-receipt
automation: <level>
record-outcome - convenes debrief: won, lost or no bid, the
score the buyer gave if they give one, and what
to do differently
owner: questionnaire-responder
after: handle-clarify automation: <level>
run-scoped:
countdown - runs roll-call owner: questionnaire-responder
every: <cadence>
from: read-rules until: submit
bid-cost - runs allocate-and-reconcile owner: <your sales
leadership role>
from: decide-to-bid until: run close
handoffs:
take-in-request -> read-rules [the-request]: the request as
received, complete, with every attachment and addendum it arrived
with
read-rules -> decide-to-bid [the-rules]: the deadline, the scoring,
the terms the request imposes, and every requirement the
organization cannot meet
decide-to-bid -> tell-the-buyer [bid-decision]: the decision and
the reason, in the words that go to the buyer
tell-the-buyer -> split-requirements [confirmed-intent]: the
confirmed intent to respond, and the date the buyer expects the
submission
split-requirements -> ask-questions [questions-to-ask]: the
requirements nobody can answer as written, and the date the
question window closes
split-requirements -> answer-requirements [owned-requirements]:
every requirement with its owner, its date and its section
split-requirements -> design-response [work-requirements]: the
requirements that describe the work rather than the company
ask-questions -> answer-requirements [buyer-answers]: the buyer's
answers, as the buyer wrote them, and every question they refused
to answer
design-response -> price-bid [solution-design]: the solution as it
would be delivered, so the price is priced against it
answer-requirements -> answer-security [security-sections]: the
security, privacy and procurement sections, with the questions
already answered elsewhere in the response marked
answer-requirements -> write-narrative [answered-requirements]:
the answered requirements, so the narrative says nothing the
answers contradict
price-bid -> write-narrative [the-price]: the price, the terms, and
every assumption the price depends on
write-narrative -> check-compliance [draft-response]: the complete
response, at a draft version, in the format the request demands
check-compliance -> approve-bid [compliance-result]: the scored
response, with the requirement or the rule behind every failure
approve-bid -> submit [approved-response]: the approved response at
the signed version. A later change voids the approval and approval
runs again
submit -> confirm-receipt [what-was-submitted]: what was submitted,
through which channel, at what time
confirm-receipt -> handle-clarify [the-receipt]: the receipt and
the reference the buyer gave it
handle-clarify -> record-outcome [post-submission]: everything said
after submission, and what the buyer decided
deviations:
tell-the-buyer -> record-outcome [no-bid]: the decision was no bid,
so none of the answering, pricing or submission phases run, and
the run goes straight to the outcome record with the reason
ask-questions -> split-requirements [answer-changes-meaning]: an
answer from the buyer changes what a requirement means, so the
requirements are split again against the new reading
check-compliance -> answer-requirements [requirement-unanswered]:
the check finds a requirement nobody answered, so it goes back to
the owner of the fact with the requirement attached
check-compliance -> write-narrative [limit-broken]: a page or word
limit is broken, so the narrative is written again to fit rather
than the answers being cut
approve-bid -> price-bid [price-must-change]: the signers will not
approve the price, so the bid is priced again before it can be
approved
approve-bid -> design-response [promise-cannot-be-made]: a
commitment in the response is one nobody will stand behind, so the
solution is designed again around what can be promised
confirm-receipt -> submit [no-receipt]: no receipt, reference
number or portal confirmation arrives, so the bid is treated as
not submitted and the submission is made again
bindings:
roster: <who holds each role - agents claiming the abstract agents
above, and named people for the account owner, the sales
leader, the deal desk reviewer and the legal reviewer>
systems: the CRM (write), the bid library (read, write),
the answer library (read), the quoting system (read),
the buyer's portal (write), the approval record (write),
the document store (write)
data: <your bid criteria> <version>, the answer library <version>,
the rate card <version>, the standard terms <version>,
<your reference customer list> <version>, the request and
every addendum
policy:
the rules the request sets are read and written down before any
answer is drafted, and a rule found later reopens the compliance
check
no bid is submitted without a decision recorded against <your bid
criteria>, and a no bid is told to the buyer in writing
questions go through the buyer's own channel, and nothing is asked
outside it while the window is open
every requirement gets a named owner, and an unowned requirement
blocks the compliance check
approval is a human gate and is never delegated to an agent
a response changed after approval goes back through approval
the submission lands at least <hours> before the deadline, and a
submission that would miss it is escalated to <who> rather than
rushed
nothing is promised in a bid that <who> has not agreed the
organization will deliver
measures:
cycle time: <days> from the request arriving to the decision to bid
win rate: <target> of bids submitted
no-bid rate: <target> of requests declined, because declining well is
part of the goal
volume: <bids per period>
quality gate: no submission leaves failing its compliance check, and
no bid leaves unsigned
```
Take it somewhere
Use this process in Google ADK
close
Paste this into an assistant that can read the web, such as Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor. It reads the specification and the current ADK documentation, then writes two files: the workflow, and a note on what did not survive the translation. Read the note first. What a runtime cannot express is the part worth arguing about, and this process is a draft to argue with.
copy the prompt
395 lines · the document is inside it, so nothing else is needed
Convert the business process below into a runnable Google ADK workflow:
one Python file with a Workflow, nodes, routed edges, a JoinNode,
RequestInput gates and a persisting session service.
The document is a reference process written to the Agent Processes
specification. Read the specification before you start, because it defines
terms that look ordinary and are not:
https://agentcatalog.com/spec/agent-processes
Sections 6 (the phase graph), 6.5.1 (exception edges), 6.7.1 (deviations),
7 (automation) and 8 (handoffs) are the ones this conversion turns on.
Then read the current documentation for the primitives you will need, rather
than relying on what you remember of the API:
https://adk.dev/graphs/routes/
nodes, tuple chains, Event(route=), JoinNode, back-edges
https://adk.dev/graphs/human-input/
RequestInput and the rerun_on_resume handoff
https://adk.dev/runtime/resume/
ResumabilityConfig, resuming by invocation id, at-least-once tools
https://adk.dev/graphs/data-handling/
Event.output against state, and the selector syntax in instructions
WHAT THE DOCUMENT ASKS FOR
These hold wherever the process lands, and they matter more than style.
1. Each phase under `phases:` becomes one step, and keeps its name.
2. `after:` gives the edges. `after: a + b` is a join and waits for BOTH.
Reading it as "either" is the defect the specification calls out by name.
3. Every handoff carries a key in square brackets. Each key becomes one field
on the run's state, named exactly as the key with hyphens turned into
underscores, and the sentence beside it becomes that field's comment. The key
is the stable name; the sentence is prose that may be rewritten.
4. A phase MUST NOT begin before its inbound handoff exists. Where that is
checkable, check it in the step rather than assuming it.
5. `automation: never` is a gate a person signs. The run stops there and does
not continue until a person's decision comes back. Do not turn one into a
notification, a log line, or an automatic transition, whatever the queue
looks like.
6. Each line under `deviations:` is a backward or sideways edge, returning to
the phase named on the right. The key in brackets names it, and that name
belongs in the code.
7. A phase whose `after:` reads like "X or Y, whichever could not finish" is an
exception edge: it is entered when those phases FAIL, not when they succeed.
Do not wire it as an ordinary successor.
8. Anything in angle brackets is a blank the adopting organization fills in.
Leave each one as a named constant at the top of the file with a TODO. Do not
invent a value, a threshold or a date.
9. Record the document's `from:` line at the top of the file, so it says which
reference process and which version it was generated from.
10. Run-scoped lines under `run-scoped:` are work that runs alongside the whole
process rather than at one point in it, and a run may not close while one is
unfinished. Say in the code what you did about them, including if the answer
is that the runtime has nowhere to put them.
HOW THAT LOOKS IN GOOGLE ADK
11. Build a `Workflow` from `google.adk.workflow`, and pin `google-adk>=2.0` in
a comment. Do not use `SequentialAgent`, `ParallelAgent` or `LoopAgent`: they
are deprecated in favour of the graph, and they carry their own defects around
state and control flow. The documentation moved to adk.dev, and anything you
remember about nesting agents rather than drawing a graph is out of date.
12. Each phase is one node keeping its name. Take the node kind from how the
phase resolves rather than from taste: a `human:` or `system:` phase is a plain
Python function node, and a `runs` or `convenes` phase is an `Agent`.
13. `after:` gives the edges, written as tuple chains in `edges=[...]`, and the
trigger is the `"START"` keyword. Take the order only from `after:` lines and
never from the order the phases are listed in.
14. `after: a + b` is a `JoinNode`, and it must be guarded, because this is the
worst trap of any runtime here. The join fires when every static predecessor is
marked COMPLETED, nothing ever un-completes a node, and stored outputs are
never cleared. So after a deviation re-runs one arm, the join fires the instant
that arm finishes and hands the next phase LAST PASS'S value for every arm that
did not re-run. It does not stall, it proceeds with stale data, and nothing
logs. Stamp each arm's output with a pass counter or a content hash, and have
the phase after the join compare the stamps and refuse to run when they
disagree.
15. Each line under `deviations:` is a routed back-edge: a router after the
phase on the left returning `Event(route=...)`, named after the key in
brackets, with one arm going back to the phase on the right and one going
forward. An unconditional cycle raises at construction, which is the one place
this model checks your work. Nothing budgets a routed cycle, so add your own
count and stop rather than looping forever.
16. Give every router an explicit `DEFAULT_ROUTE` arm, and route it to a phase
that stops and asks a person. A route value matching no key writes a log
warning, ends that branch, and lets the run finish reporting success with the
rest of the process never having happened.
17. `automation: never` is a `RequestInput` node of its own, never an `Agent`
asking a question. Decorate it `@node(rerun_on_resume=False)` and yield
`RequestInput(message=..., payload=..., response_schema=...)`, so the run
stops, persists, and delivers the person's answer to the node's successor as
its typed input. A resumed workflow runs its tools at least once, so any
irreversible act needs its own duplicate guard.
18. Make the gates durable or say plainly that they are not. Wrap the graph in
`App(..., resumability_config=ResumabilityConfig(is_resumable=True))` and pass
a persisting session service, never the in-memory one. Note in the file that
the command line and the web UI cannot resume a run, so whoever releases these
gates needs an operator surface that somebody has to write.
19. Every `Agent` in the graph gets `mode="single_turn"` and no `sub_agents`.
A non-empty `sub_agents` list silently adds a transfer tool, and a model that
uses it runs a different agent in this node's place while the graph's outgoing
edge fires on schedule regardless: the topology is honoured perfectly and the
work belongs to somebody else.
20. Model failure as a route, not as an exception. A node that raises does not
propagate: the failure is caught, recorded, and shuts the workflow down without
raising to the caller. So a phase that can fail catches its own failure and
returns `Event(route="could-not-finish")`, and the exception phase hangs off
that arm.
21. Keep every blank as a named module-level constant and never interpolate one
into an `instruction=` string. Angle brackets and curly braces are ADK's own
data selector syntax inside instructions, so a blank pasted verbatim stops
being a blank and becomes a selector.
22. `by:` and `not-before:` have no expression, and `@node(timeout=)` is not
one: it is an in-process wall clock that cancels the node and, because failures
are swallowed, ends the run silently rather than recording a missed deadline.
Nothing in `run-scoped:` has an expression either, and it must not be faked as
an ordinary node, because a node has to be reached and has to finish before
anything downstream starts, which is the opposite of what those lines mean.
Leave both out of the graph and name them in the fidelity note.
Produce a second file alongside it, `FIDELITY.md`, and treat it as the more
important of the two. The code is for whoever builds this. The fidelity note
is for whoever has to decide whether this platform suits the process at all,
and that is usually a different person who will never read the code.
It has three parts.
**What came across.** Briefly: how many phases became steps, how many handoff
keys became state fields, which gates stop the run, which deviations became
edges. Counts and names, not reassurance.
**What did not, and what was done instead.** One entry per gap. For each one,
say what the document requires, what the platform can actually express, what
you did in its place, and what breaks if somebody later removes your
workaround. This last part matters most: a workaround nobody understands is a
workaround somebody deletes.
**What a person still has to decide.** The blanks are not a translation
failure, they are the point of a reference process, so list what has to be
filled in before this could run against anything real, and say which of those
choices the platform constrains.
Write it in plain English for somebody who has not read the specification, and
do not soften it. A translation of a reference process is a draft to argue
with, not a build artifact, and the honest account of what was lost is the most
useful thing you will produce.
Here is the process document.
```
PROCESS: respond to an rfp id: <team>/respond-to-an-rfp v1
from: ref/sls/respond-to-an-rfp v1
owner: <who> effective: <date>
trigger: a formal request for proposal, tender or information arrives
at <your intake address> or is found in <your sourcing feed>
watch: record=<request for proposal>
system=<your intake address>
change=<a formal request arrives>
or watch: record=<request for proposal>
system=<your sourcing feed>
change=<a formal request is found>
concurrency: runs may overlap - <how many> bids in flight at once, and
one request is one run from intake to outcome
goal: a submission that answers every requirement, obeys every rule the
request set, and lands before the deadline - or a decline sent in
writing within <days> of the request arriving
phases:
take-in-request - human: the request, the buyer, the channel it
came through, and who inside the organization
first saw it
owner: questionnaire-responder
after: trigger automation: <level>
read-rules - human: the deadline, the format, the channel,
the page and word limits, the question window,
and how the response will be scored
owner: questionnaire-responder
after: take-in-request automation: <level>
decide-to-bid - convenes decide-and-announce: bid or no bid,
decided by <who> against <your bid criteria>,
with the reason written down either way
owner: <your sales leadership role>
after: read-rules
by: <days> automation: never
tell-the-buyer - human: a decline in writing, or intent to
respond confirmed the way the request asks for
owner: <your account role>
after: decide-to-bid
by: <days> automation: <level>
split-requirements - human: every requirement given one owner, one
date, and the section of the response it lands
in
owner: questionnaire-responder
after: tell-the-buyer automation: <level>
ask-questions - human: the questions the response depends on,
asked through the buyer's own channel before
the window closes on <date>
owner: questionnaire-responder
after: split-requirements
by: <days> automation: <level>
answer-requirements - runs build-by-talent: each requirement answered
by the owner of the fact, in the words the
request asks for
owner: questionnaire-responder
after: split-requirements + ask-questions
by: <days> automation: <level>
design-response - runs build-by-talent: how the work would
actually be done, at the depth the request
scores
owner: solution-architect
after: split-requirements
by: <days> automation: <level>
price-bid - human: the bid priced against the rate card at
its version, on the commercial terms the
request demands
owner: quote-builder after: design-response
by: <days> automation: <level>
answer-security - runs collect-and-report: the buyer's security,
privacy, legal and procurement sections
answered from the library at their versions
owner: standards-keeper
after: answer-requirements
automation: <level>
write-narrative - runs build-by-talent: the summary, the
approach and the references - the parts a
person reads rather than scores
owner: proposal-writer
after: answer-requirements + price-bid +
answer-security
by: <days> automation: <level>
check-compliance - runs assessment: every requirement answered,
every limit obeyed, every form present, scored
against the rules read at the start
owner: questionnaire-responder
after: write-narrative automation: <level>
approve-bid - convenes approval: named signers approve the
price, the commitments and the terms the bid
accepts
owner: <your deal desk role>
after: check-compliance
by: <days> automation: never
submit - human: one submission, in the format, through
the channel the request names, no later than
<hours> before the deadline
owner: <your account role>
after: approve-bid automation: <level>
confirm-receipt - system: the buyer's receipt, reference number
or portal confirmation, recorded against the
submission
owner: questionnaire-responder
after: submit automation: <level>
handle-clarify - human: the buyer's follow-up questions, the
shortlist presentation, and any best and final
offer the buyer asks for
owner: proposal-writer after: confirm-receipt
automation: <level>
record-outcome - convenes debrief: won, lost or no bid, the
score the buyer gave if they give one, and what
to do differently
owner: questionnaire-responder
after: handle-clarify automation: <level>
run-scoped:
countdown - runs roll-call owner: questionnaire-responder
every: <cadence>
from: read-rules until: submit
bid-cost - runs allocate-and-reconcile owner: <your sales
leadership role>
from: decide-to-bid until: run close
handoffs:
take-in-request -> read-rules [the-request]: the request as
received, complete, with every attachment and addendum it arrived
with
read-rules -> decide-to-bid [the-rules]: the deadline, the scoring,
the terms the request imposes, and every requirement the
organization cannot meet
decide-to-bid -> tell-the-buyer [bid-decision]: the decision and
the reason, in the words that go to the buyer
tell-the-buyer -> split-requirements [confirmed-intent]: the
confirmed intent to respond, and the date the buyer expects the
submission
split-requirements -> ask-questions [questions-to-ask]: the
requirements nobody can answer as written, and the date the
question window closes
split-requirements -> answer-requirements [owned-requirements]:
every requirement with its owner, its date and its section
split-requirements -> design-response [work-requirements]: the
requirements that describe the work rather than the company
ask-questions -> answer-requirements [buyer-answers]: the buyer's
answers, as the buyer wrote them, and every question they refused
to answer
design-response -> price-bid [solution-design]: the solution as it
would be delivered, so the price is priced against it
answer-requirements -> answer-security [security-sections]: the
security, privacy and procurement sections, with the questions
already answered elsewhere in the response marked
answer-requirements -> write-narrative [answered-requirements]:
the answered requirements, so the narrative says nothing the
answers contradict
price-bid -> write-narrative [the-price]: the price, the terms, and
every assumption the price depends on
write-narrative -> check-compliance [draft-response]: the complete
response, at a draft version, in the format the request demands
check-compliance -> approve-bid [compliance-result]: the scored
response, with the requirement or the rule behind every failure
approve-bid -> submit [approved-response]: the approved response at
the signed version. A later change voids the approval and approval
runs again
submit -> confirm-receipt [what-was-submitted]: what was submitted,
through which channel, at what time
confirm-receipt -> handle-clarify [the-receipt]: the receipt and
the reference the buyer gave it
handle-clarify -> record-outcome [post-submission]: everything said
after submission, and what the buyer decided
deviations:
tell-the-buyer -> record-outcome [no-bid]: the decision was no bid,
so none of the answering, pricing or submission phases run, and
the run goes straight to the outcome record with the reason
ask-questions -> split-requirements [answer-changes-meaning]: an
answer from the buyer changes what a requirement means, so the
requirements are split again against the new reading
check-compliance -> answer-requirements [requirement-unanswered]:
the check finds a requirement nobody answered, so it goes back to
the owner of the fact with the requirement attached
check-compliance -> write-narrative [limit-broken]: a page or word
limit is broken, so the narrative is written again to fit rather
than the answers being cut
approve-bid -> price-bid [price-must-change]: the signers will not
approve the price, so the bid is priced again before it can be
approved
approve-bid -> design-response [promise-cannot-be-made]: a
commitment in the response is one nobody will stand behind, so the
solution is designed again around what can be promised
confirm-receipt -> submit [no-receipt]: no receipt, reference
number or portal confirmation arrives, so the bid is treated as
not submitted and the submission is made again
bindings:
roster: <who holds each role - agents claiming the abstract agents
above, and named people for the account owner, the sales
leader, the deal desk reviewer and the legal reviewer>
systems: the CRM (write), the bid library (read, write),
the answer library (read), the quoting system (read),
the buyer's portal (write), the approval record (write),
the document store (write)
data: <your bid criteria> <version>, the answer library <version>,
the rate card <version>, the standard terms <version>,
<your reference customer list> <version>, the request and
every addendum
policy:
the rules the request sets are read and written down before any
answer is drafted, and a rule found later reopens the compliance
check
no bid is submitted without a decision recorded against <your bid
criteria>, and a no bid is told to the buyer in writing
questions go through the buyer's own channel, and nothing is asked
outside it while the window is open
every requirement gets a named owner, and an unowned requirement
blocks the compliance check
approval is a human gate and is never delegated to an agent
a response changed after approval goes back through approval
the submission lands at least <hours> before the deadline, and a
submission that would miss it is escalated to <who> rather than
rushed
nothing is promised in a bid that <who> has not agreed the
organization will deliver
measures:
cycle time: <days> from the request arriving to the decision to bid
win rate: <target> of bids submitted
no-bid rate: <target> of requests declined, because declining well is
part of the goal
volume: <bids per period>
quality gate: no submission leaves failing its compliance check, and
no bid leaves unsigned
```
One run
A simulation of one run
The activities are on the left, whoever is doing the active one is on the right, and the record of the run builds up as it goes.
This run is built from the same rows as the diagram above: the left column is the activity list, the captions are the activity lines, the cast is the roster, and the labels on the wires are what the handoffs say actually passes.
Adoption
What you fill in
59 blanks to fill. Everything else is the process.
this process
from: ref/sls/respond-to-an-rfp v1
Copy this line into your own document. It never claims this process is running anywhere; it records which draft yours started from, and it is what lets the catalog tell you when this one changes.
The header. Your own id, an owner, and the date it takes effect. One line records where it came from, and that line is what lets the catalog tell you when this reference process changes.
The roster. Which agent takes each activity, and which person takes each of the human ones. The process already names what it needs, so this is a lookup rather than a design exercise.
The numbers. Dates, budgets, cadences, and the targets in the measures block. Nothing here can be a reference value, because a target nobody chose is a target nobody meets.