Design intent
Represent a sequence of steps and dependencies in a way people can inspect before running.
When to use
Use this pattern when its control or information directly helps the current task. Start with a real user scenario rather than adding an AI-themed affordance by default.
Example
Build a review-then-publish workflow with an approval boundary.
This is an illustrative Knoveya scenario, not a claim about a particular shipped product.
Implementation checklist
- Define the trigger, visible state, allowed action, and completion condition.
- Cycles, missing inputs, and irreversible steps are surfaced before execution.
- Cover missing input, unavailable permissions, interrupted work, and partial results where they apply.
- Keep keyboard focus, labels, and recovery behavior understandable without motion.
Trade-offs
Extra controls or explanations add reading and decision effort. Prefer the smallest presentation that exposes the relevant consequence. Do not display a guarantee, metric, or permission that the underlying system cannot enforce.
Verify
Reproduce the example with synthetic data and deliberately trigger its failure path. Cycles, missing inputs, and irreversible steps are surfaced before execution.