Work queues
The durable handoff between automated work and human judgment.
A work queue is where the company puts work that needs a person, a decision, or a follow-up. It turns “human in the loop” from an invisible prompt into a durable operating surface.
Make a handoff explicit
Automated work should stop at a clear boundary when the risk, ambiguity, or business judgment exceeds its authority. The queue item should tell the next person what happened and what decision is needed.
What a work item contains
ReasonWhy the item needs attention.
ContextThe objects, events, and knowledge relevant to the decision.
ActionThe tool or next step that will resolve the item.
DecisionWho decided, what they chose, and when.
Design for resolution
- Prefer a concrete request over a generic alert.
- Show the evidence behind the recommendation.
- Make the allowed actions and permissions obvious.
- Write the decision back to the system so the next run can learn from it.