Workflow vs Workspace Intelligence
Workflow systems coordinate actions; Workspace Intelligence explains the system those actions operate on.
A workflow graph and a workspace graph can both contain nodes and edges, but they answer different questions.
Workflow systems
A workflow system primarily describes execution:
It answers questions such as:
- What runs next?
- Which agent or service performs the task?
- When should the workflow retry or stop?
- Which result unlocks the next state?
Workspace Intelligence
Workspace Intelligence describes the operating environment:
It answers:
- What system is this workflow changing?
- Which boundaries and contracts are relevant?
- What changed and what may be affected?
- Which evidence is current?
- Which checks prove that the result is acceptable?
The integration boundary
The two layers complement each other:
Embedding a private system model inside every workflow couples understanding to one orchestrator. Embedding orchestration into the canonical model couples truth to one execution engine.
Keep the boundary explicit: intelligence supplies grounded state and constraints; workflows coordinate actions and return evidence.