LEVEL 04 · LESSON 35
State
State records what has happened so the system can safely decide what happens next.
What it is
State is the explicit record of where a task currently stands: inputs collected, steps completed, approvals received, actions taken, and work still pending.
Why it matters
Reliable automation must know what actually happened, especially after interruptions, retries, and partial failures.
A business example
A refund task records that the amount was approved, the payment service accepted the refund, and the customer notification is still pending. Restarting the task should send the notification without issuing a second refund.
How it actually works
Store important transitions in a durable system, using stable task and operation identifiers. Distinguish proposed, approved, executing, succeeded, and failed states. Confirm external outcomes before marking success, and reconcile ambiguous responses. Protect updates from conflicting concurrent changes. The conversation transcript can provide context, but it should not be the sole source of truth for a transaction’s status.
A common misconception
A model remembering that it intended to do something does not mean the action succeeded.
ONE SENTENCE TO REMEMBER
State records what has happened so the system can safely decide what happens next.
CHECK YOUR UNDERSTANDING
An agent’s transcript says it was “about to issue the refund” when the session crashed. How should the system decide whether to issue it now?
Show the answer
Answer: D.
State records what has happened so the system can safely decide what happens next. A model remembering an intention does not mean the action succeeded, and the transcript should not be the sole source of truth for a transaction’s status.
Take it into your next meeting
If your process stops halfway through, which facts must survive the restart?
One more concept, understood.
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