# Coordinate tasks before adding agents

> How task ownership, explicit state and completion checks make a multi-agent workflow easier to operate.

- Category: Agent Systems
- Reading time: 2 min
- Published: 2026-08-07
- Updated: 2026-09-13

The difficult part of a multi-agent system is coordinating responsibility. Each participant needs a bounded task and a result that can be checked.

## Give each task an owner

Separate deciding what should happen from carrying out an action. A coordinator can assign work, but the task contract must identify who returns the result and how it is verified.

Avoid sending every request to every agent. Route only the work each participant can usefully complete.

## Keep shared state explicit

Record the task status, accepted inputs and latest result in a place the workflow can inspect. Do not rely on a conversation summary as the only account of completion.

When two tasks can change the same resource, define the order or require a review before applying their outputs.

## Plan for partial failure

A failed task should return a useful error and preserve completed work. Make retries safe and place a limit on repeated attempts.

Keep external side effects separate from drafting and analysis so that a retry does not repeat a consequential action.

## Check the combined result

Individual task success does not establish that the final output is coherent. Check the assembled result against the original requirement.

Retain the decisions, changes and checks needed to explain the outcome. A smaller workflow is preferable when it provides the same result with fewer failure points.

## Index

- [Journal](https://brittek.net/journal)

Canonical URL: https://brittek.net/journal/multi-agent-systems-are-orchestration-systems