06.10 human tasks

Human Tasks

Human Tasks allow a workflow to pause execution and wait for a person to review, approve, reject, or provide additional information before continuing.

This enables human-in-the-loop workflows, where AI automation and human judgment work together.

Human Tasks are essential for business processes that require oversight, compliance, or manual decision-making.

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What is a Human Task?

A Human Task temporarily pauses workflow execution.

Conceptually:

Workflow

↓

Human Task

↓

Waiting

↓

User Decision

↓

Resume Workflow

The workflow remains suspended until someone completes the task.

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Why Use Human Tasks?

Not every decision should be made automatically.

Examples include:

• approving payments
• reviewing legal documents
• validating AI-generated content
• approving customer refunds
• reviewing security alerts
• confirming sensitive operations

Human Tasks ensure these decisions remain under human control.

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Workflow Lifecycle

A Human Task changes the normal execution flow.

Workflow Running

↓

Create Human Task

↓

Pause Workflow

↓

Wait

↓

Resume

↓

Continue

The workflow resumes from exactly where it stopped.

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Human Task Object

When a Human Task node executes, it creates a task object.

A typical task contains:

• task identifier
• workflow instance identifier
• node identifier
• creation time
• completion status
• result

This information allows external systems to track and manage pending work.

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Waiting State

After creating the task, the workflow enters a waiting state.

Running

↓

Waiting

↓

Completed

↓

Running

While waiting, no additional workflow nodes execute.

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Completing a Task

A user or external application completes the task.

Open Task

↓

Approve

↓

Resume Workflow

The workflow executor continues from the Human Task node.

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Approval Example

A document approval workflow might look like this.

Generate Contract

↓

Human Approval

↓

Approved?

↓

Continue

The workflow does not continue until a reviewer completes the approval.

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AI + Human Collaboration

Human Tasks work naturally with AI agents.

AI Agent

↓

Draft Proposal

↓

Human Review

↓

Publish

The AI performs the repetitive work, while humans retain responsibility for important decisions.

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Workflow Context

Human Tasks may store results inside the workflow context.

Example:

approved = True

↓

Workflow Resumes

Subsequent workflow nodes can use these values to determine what happens next.

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Forms

Human Tasks may reference forms or user interfaces.

Conceptually:

Workflow

↓

Human Task

↓

Approval Form

↓

Submit

The workflow itself remains independent of the user interface implementation.

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Assignment

Tasks may be assigned to:

• individual users
• roles
• departments
• external systems

Assignment logic depends on the surrounding application rather than the workflow engine itself.

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Human Tasks vs Conditions

These components serve different purposes.

Human Task	Condition
Waits for a person	Makes an automatic decision
Manual input	Programmatic logic
May take minutes or days	Executes immediately
Pauses workflow	Workflow continues instantly

Often they are used together.

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Long-Running Workflows

Human Tasks make long-running workflows possible.

Day 1

↓

Waiting

↓

Day 3

↓

Resume

A workflow may remain paused for minutes, hours, or even weeks.

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Best Practices

• Use Human Tasks only where human judgment adds value.
• Keep task descriptions clear and concise.
• Store important decisions in workflow variables.
• Separate workflow logic from user interface implementation.
• Provide meaningful task identifiers for tracking.
• Monitor outstanding tasks to avoid workflows remaining paused indefinitely.

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Common Use Cases

Human Tasks are commonly used for:

• approval workflows
• document review
• compliance verification
• financial authorization
• security validation
• quality assurance
• customer service escalation

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Summary

Human Tasks allow BindAI workflows to pause safely while waiting for manual input.

They provide the foundation for human-in-the-loop automation, combining the speed of AI with the judgment, accountability, and oversight that only people can provide.