Patterns
Pattern: Approval Gate
Pattern: Approval Gate
Category: Human-in-the-Loop Source: Internal usage (Board approval in CEO decisions), FOR-0012 Status: Active
When to Use
When certain decisions or outputs require explicit human approval before proceeding. Essential for high-stakes actions, irreversible operations, or any point where human judgment adds value that the agent cannot provide alone.
How It Works
- The agent reaches a decision point that requires human input
- It prepares a clear summary: what it wants to do, why, alternatives considered, and risks
- It pauses and presents the summary to the human for approval
- The human reviews and either approves, rejects, or requests modifications
- If approved, the agent proceeds with execution
- If rejected or modified, the agent adjusts and may re-present for approval
- The decision is logged for audit trail
Example
In the CEO decision-making process, Oscar gathers specialist input, synthesizes options, and presents a recommendation to the Board of Directors (the user). The board makes the final call. Oscar does not commit to irreversible strategic decisions without board approval — this is an explicit approval gate.
Tradeoffs
| Pro | Con |
|---|---|
| Prevents costly mistakes on high-stakes decisions | Adds latency — system waits for human |
| Builds trust between human and agent | Too many gates create bottlenecks |
| Creates an audit trail of approved decisions | Humans may rubber-stamp if gates are too frequent |
| Allows humans to catch errors agents miss | Must be used judiciously — not everything needs approval |
Factory Usage
- CEO-to-Board decisions: Oscar presents strategic recommendations and waits for board approval before recording decisions.
- Role Factory DEPLOY stage: The verification checklist acts as an implicit approval gate before committing.
- Production Line quality gates: Go/no-go decisions at stage boundaries.