Decision step in the builder: shape and name #245

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1. Silthus

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   wayfinder:prototype

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   • Map: AI decisions in workflows, a decision step backed by Jev #240
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   marked this as blocking on Oct 4, 2026

   • Spec: decision step for workflows #246
4. Silthus commented on Oct 4, 2026

   

   Silthus

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   Runtime: T3 Code
   Thread: thread:project:3c3db4d9-0010-47d8-88ed-d1bae5334baa:4dd4b9aa-9111-4809-8f22-84a48fdcd5d3
   Title: prototype #245: Decision step in the builder: shape and name
   Model: Fable 5.1 (UI design with real ambiguity)
   Wall-time cap: 120 minutes for the AFK stretch
5. Silthus commented on Oct 4, 2026

   

   Silthus

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   Runtime: T3 Code
   Thread: thread:project:3c3db4d9-0010-47d8-88ed-d1bae5334baa:bb61206f-3db9-4c8c-b2f9-d8d74933050d
   Title: prototype #245: Decision step in the builder: shape and name
   Model: Opus 5.5, substituted for Fable 5.1 after three rate-limited starts. The earlier thread is archived.
   Wall-time cap: 120 minutes for the AFK stretch
6. Silthus

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7. Silthus commented on Oct 4, 2026

   

   Silthus

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   Parked for Michael. The prototype is ready to react to.

   Open it

   • Preview (tailnet): https://devbox-michaelr-1.hedgehog-kitefin.ts.net:60001/decision-step-245/ → story Products / Workflows / Prototype / Decision step / All shapes. The bottom bar or the ← → keys switch shapes. The panel is live: edit options, toggle Yes or no, flip the Unsure switch, and run "Test with a person".
   • Branch: prototype/workflow-decision-step (throwaway, no PR). Locally: cd common/storybook && pnpm start, same story.
   • Code: a decision action type in the real graph editor (steps/StepDecisionPrototype.tsx, story editor/graph/DecisionStepPrototype.stories.tsx). "AI decision" is also in the step palette under Audience split.

   People and events are invented.

   Decisions locked so far

   Carried over from #242, #243 and #244, and shown in every shape:

   • The question is author text only. Person data goes in a "What the model sees" list of named, templated fields, with an 8 KB meter and a "Show what is sent" preview.
   • 2 to 16 described options. Yes or no has an "answer yes at N%" slider, 50% by default.
   • Unsure is an optional path for pick-one questions, off by default. The prototype turns it on to show it.
   • Model failure or no AI credits goes down a visible "If the decision fails" path, never a silent drop.
   • "Test with a person" shows the probability of every answer and the path the person takes.
   • The cost hint says one AI decision per person, with a trigger volume estimate.

   The three shapes

   A. Branching step: each answer is its own handle on the canvas.

   

   A: full config panel (pick one, and yes or no)

   
   

   B. Variable writer + conditional branch: the step saves onboarding_track and onboarding_track_confidence, and the existing conditional branch routes on them.

   

   B: full config panel

   

   C. Content picker: each option maps to an email template, and one step sends the picked email.

   

   C: full config panel, and the step palette

   
   

   	A. Branching step	B. Variable writer + condition	C. Content picker
   Acceptance examples from #244	A1, A3 (a branch per template), A4, A5. A2 through the step's existing Output variables section	A1, A2, A4 (threshold moves into the condition), A5	A3 only
   Question stays author text	Enforced on the server by a native action type	A function template enforces it only in the UI, unless Django reads the question from the saved action (#243)	Native, enforced
   Author effort	One step	Two steps. The condition must repeat every option name, and a rename breaks it silently	One step
   Model failure	Its own path	Empty variables fall into the condition's "No match", mixed with real non-matches	Fallback email
   Build cost	New action type across Django, Node, frontend, MCP and graph schema (charting evidence on #240)	Smallest: a function template plus the existing branch	New action type plus a per-option template copy, the biggest email change

   Pending question

   Which shape ships first, and what is the step called?

   Recommendation: A, the branching step, named "AI decision".

   • A serves four of the five acceptance examples in one step, and the fifth (A2, labeling) through the Output variables section every step already has.
   • Only a native action type enforces "the question is author text only" on the server, which is the trade-off What a decision sees, and how it stays safe #243 flagged against a function template.
   • B is cheaper to build, but it makes authors repeat option names in a second step and hides failures in "No match".
   • C covers one use case that A already covers with one email step per branch. It fits as a later convenience, not as the primitive.
   • "AI decision" sits next to "Conditional branch" in the palette and says what it does. Other candidates from the map: "Decide", "Ask AI", "Ask Jev". I would keep the model family name out of the step name, because authors don't know it.

   Not settled by this prototype, for the spec: whether a test run costs AI credits (the copy assumes it does), an Unsure band for yes or no questions, and the cost copy, which waits on gateway billing (#240).
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   wayfinder:awaiting-humanParked HITL ticket waiting on the humanParked HITL ticket waiting on the human

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10. Silthus commented on Oct 4, 2026

    

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    Resolution

    Accepted: shape A, the branching step, named "AI Decision (Jeeeeeeeeev)". Michael accepted it in the ticket thread.

    The name follows the repo's sentence-case rule for UI copy, so the builder shows it as "AI decision (Jeeeeeeeeev)": in the step palette under Audience split, and as the step's default description.

    What the shape is

    • A native action type. Its outputs are its answers: "Yes" and "No" for a yes or no question, or one handle per option for a pick-one question.
    • An optional "Unsure" handle for pick-one questions, used when no option reaches the author's threshold. It is off by default.
    • A separate "If the decision fails" path for model failures, timeouts and missing AI credits. Nobody drops out silently.
    • The answer and its confidence can also go to workflow variables through the "Output variables" section every step already has. That covers labeling (A2) without a second step.

    Decisions behind it

    • Coverage. A serves four of the five acceptance examples from Which decisions lifecycle teams want, and how other tools offer them #244 in one step (A1, A3 with a branch per template, A4, A5), and A2 through Output variables.
    • Safety. Only a native action type can enforce "the question is author text only" on the server. A function template enforces it only in the UI (What a decision sees, and how it stays safe #243).
    • Why not B (variable writer + conditional branch). It is cheaper to build. But the condition step must repeat every option name, and renaming an option breaks it without warning. Model failures also land in "No match", mixed in with real non-matches.
    • Why not C (content picker). It serves only one use case (A3), which A already covers with one email step per branch. It can come later as a convenience.
    • Carried over from How a workflow step reaches a hosted System One model #242 to Which decisions lifecycle teams want, and how other tools offer them #244, all shown in the prototype panel:
      • The question is author text only. Person data goes in a "What the model sees" list of named, templated fields, with an 8 KB cap and a "Show what is sent" preview.
      • 2 to 16 described options. The option name is the branch label.
      • Yes or no has an "answer yes at N%" threshold, 50% by default.
      • "Test with a person" shows the probability of every answer and the path the person takes.
      • A cost hint says one AI decision per person.
    • Naming. The model family nickname is in the step name, at Michael's request.

    Pointers

    • Branch: prototype/workflow-decision-step (throwaway, no PR).
      • Panel: products/workflows/frontend/Workflows/hogflows/steps/StepDecisionPrototype.tsx.
      • Story: editor/graph/DecisionStepPrototype.stories.tsx.
      • Screenshots: editor/graph/decision-step-prototype-screenshots/.
    • The prototype story still uses the working name "AI decision". The spec carries the accepted name.

    Open items for the spec

    • Whether a "Test with a person" run uses AI credits. The prototype copy assumes it does.
    • An Unsure band for yes or no questions ("no at or below N%", from What a decision sees, and how it stays safe #243). The prototype shows Unsure for pick-one only.
    • The cost copy, which waits on how the AI gateway bills hosted System One calls (Map: AI decisions in workflows, a decision step backed by Jev #240, "Gateway billing and limits").
    • Removed handles: what happens to the steps attached to a handle when an author switches the answer type or removes an option.
11. Silthus

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    wayfinder:awaiting-humanParked HITL ticket waiting on the humanParked HITL ticket waiting on the human

    on Oct 4, 2026
12. Silthus

    closed this as completedon Oct 4, 2026