---
name: workflow-design
description: Use when designing custom orchestration workflows -- choosing which archetypes run in each PDCA phase, setting exit conditions, and configuring PDCA cycles.
---

# Workflow Design -- PDCA Cycles

PDCA cycles spiral upward: each cycle incorporates feedback from the previous one.

## Built-in Workflows

| Workflow | Plan | Do | Check | Exit | Max Cycles |
|----------|------|----|-------|------|------------|
| `fast` | Creator | Maker | Guardian | approve/reject | 1 |
| `standard` | Explorer + Creator | Maker | Guardian + Skeptic + Sage | all_approved | 2 |
| `thorough` | Explorer + Creator | Maker | Guardian + Skeptic + Sage + Trickster | all_approved | 3 |

## Designing Custom Workflows

**Step 1: Identify the concern**

| Risk | Emphasize in Check |
|------|-------------------|
| Security | Guardian + Trickster |
| Correctness | Skeptic + Sage |
| Performance | Custom `perf-tester` |
| Compliance | Custom `compliance-auditor` |
| Data integrity | Custom `db-specialist` |

**Step 2: Phase assignment rules**
- Plan always includes Creator
- Do always includes Maker
- Check needs at least one reviewer
- Max 3 archetypes per phase
- Explorer goes in Plan only; Maker goes in Do only

**Step 3: Exit conditions**

| Condition | Cycle ends when |
|-----------|----------------|
| `all_approved` | Every reviewer says APPROVED |
| `no_critical` | No CRITICAL findings |
| `convergence` | No new issues vs previous cycle |
| `always` | Runs all maxCycles unconditionally |

**Step 4: Max cycles** -- 1 (fast), 2 (balanced), 3 (thorough). 4+ rarely useful.

## Hook Points

Define in `.archeflow/hooks.yaml`:

| Hook | When | Typical use |
|------|------|-------------|
| `pre-plan` | Before Explorer/Creator | Lint, clean baseline |
| `post-plan` | After Creator's proposal | Validate constraints |
| `pre-do` | Before Maker | Check worktree |
| `post-do` | After Maker commits | Smoke test |
| `post-check` | After reviewers | Run test suite |
| `pre-merge` | Before merge | Migration safety |
| `post-merge` | After merge | Integration tests |

Each hook has `command`, `description`, and `fail_action` (abort / warn / ignore / cycle_back / revert).

## Anti-Patterns

- All 7 archetypes in Check (diminishing returns)
- maxCycles > 4 (burns tokens without convergence)
- Skipping Check phase
- Maker in Plan phase
- One archetype in every phase (just a single agent with overhead)