Processes
Three agents without a process is a group chat. Process is the standup rule that stops them talking forever.
Sequential is a factory line. Hierarchical is a tech lead assigning tickets at standup.
Visual Workflows
Start here — scroll inside each diagram frame to explore, then use + / − to zoom up to 200% if needed.
Scroll inside the frame to explore · use + / − to zoom up to 200%
Key Takeaways
- 1.Process is how a Crew orchestrates its tasks — not how your whole product is orchestrated (that is Flow) Sequential: Agent A / Task A then Agent B / Task B. Predictable pipelines.
- 2.Hierarchical: a manager agent coordinates, delegates, and validates worker output. Pick sequential when the ticket order is known. Pick hierarchical when the manager must decide who works.
- 3.Sequential runs the tasks list in order. Hierarchical requires a manager who plans and delegates.
- 4.Hierarchical costs more tokens. Do not use it for a two-step research → write pipeline.
Learn elsewhere
- →Agent Delegation
- →Flows
Real Example
Scenario
Content brief: sequential researcher → writer. Incident response: hierarchical manager who decides whether to research or hotfix.
What you would do
In CrewAI, apply Processes to this scenario: Content brief: sequential researcher → writer. Identify the inputs, run the technique, validate the output, and note one thing you would monitor in production.
Commands
Commands to Remember
Process = crew orchestrationSequential = known orderHierarchical = manager delegatesFlow is a different layer
Cheat Sheet
Quick recap
quick ref- •Process ≠ Flow
- •Line vs lead
- •Hierarchical needs a manager
- •Eval each step
Common Mistakes
- ✕Skipping evaluation for Processes before production
- ✕No logging or tracing around crewai processes steps
- ✕Ignoring cost and latency implications