Working with Workloads: Overview

Workloads are the fundamental unit of work in Simple Agent Designer. Each workload represents a task that an AI agent processes. This page explains the workload concept and how it fits into the overall system.

What is a Workload?

A workload is a task description — a set of instructions and optional data — that tells an AI agent what to do. Think of it as a work order you hand to a specialist:

"Process this invoice" — with the invoice attached as a PDF
"Categorize these bank transactions" — with transaction data from a BC table
"Create a purchase order for office supplies" — with a description of what to order

Each workload has a lifecycle: it is created, processed by an agent, and marked with a result (Success or Fail).

Workload Components

Component	Description
Type	Links to a Workload Type template that defines processing rules
Title	A brief summary of the task (automatically set from the first line of the description)
Description	Detailed task instructions written in the code editor
Additional Data	Optional file attachment (Excel, PDF, image)
Status	Processing state: Not Started, Started, Success, or Fail
Result	Summary text from the agent after processing

Workload Lifecycle

┌─────────────┐
│  Not Started │ ← Created by user, API, or data splitter
└──────┬──────┘
       │ Process action
       ▼
┌─────────────┐
│   Started   │ ← Agent is actively processing
└──────┬──────┘
       │ Agent completes
       ▼
┌─────────────┐     ┌─────────────┐
│   Success   │  or │    Fail     │
└─────────────┘     └─────────────┘

Workloads vs. Workload Types

Aspect	Workload	Workload Type
Purpose	A single task to process	A reusable template for tasks
Count	Many (one per task)	Few (one per category of task)
Contains	Task description, file, status	Processing rules, agent assignment, data source config
Created by	User, API, or splitter	Administrator during setup
Analogy	A specific work order	A work order form/template

How They Connect

You create a Workload Type called "Invoice Processing"
The type specifies: use agent INVOICEAI, payload-based, with Excel splitting
Each time you have invoices to process, you create a Workload of type "Invoice Processing"
The workload contains the specific invoices and task details

Parent and Child Workloads

Workloads can have a hierarchical relationship:

A parent workload is the original workload created by the user
Child workloads are created automatically by data or Excel splitters

When a parent workload uses a data splitter or Excel splitter:

The parent workload is processed by the splitter (not by an AI agent)
Child workloads are created — one per data record or Excel row
Each child workload contains the relevant subset of data
Child workloads can be processed individually or in bulk

Navigating the Hierarchy

The Workload List shows only top-level (parent) workloads by default
The Child Workloads column shows how many children exist (click to drill down)
On the Workload Card, a Child Workload Yes/No indicator appears for child workloads; drill down on it to open the parent workload

Workload Data Flow

Payload-Based Workloads

User writes description ──→ Agent receives description ──→ Agent processes task
     └── Attaches file ──→ Agent sees file content

The description and any attached file are the agent's input. This is the simplest mode.

Data-Based Workloads

Workload Type defines table + filters
         │
         ▼
Table Splitter queries BC table
         │
         ▼
Creates child workload per record
(each includes record data as JSON)
         │
         ▼
Each child workload processed by agent
(agent sees original description + record JSON)

Data-based workloads automate the creation of tasks from Business Central data.

Excel-Based Workloads

User uploads Excel file
         │
         ▼
Excel Splitter reads rows
         │
         ▼
Creates child workload per row
(each includes row data as JSON)
         │
         ▼
Each child workload processed by agent
(agent sees original description + row JSON)

Excel splitting is a variant of payload-based processing where the file is split into rows.

Document Tracking

When agents create Business Central documents during processing (journal entries, sales orders, purchase invoices, etc.), these are tracked through Workload Links:

Each link records the workload ID, document type, and document number
Links are visible on the Workload Card via Documents Created
The Workload List shows Documents Generated counts
Links support drill-down to the actual Business Central documents

The Workload List

The main workspace for managing workloads:

Column	Description
Type	Workload type identifier
Workload Date	When the workload was created
Processed Status	Current processing state
Child Workloads	Number of child workloads (click to view)
Title	Summary of the task
Documents Generated	Number of documents created (click to view)
Processed Result	Agent's result summary

Key Actions

New Workload — create a new workload
Process — process the selected workload
Process All — process all unprocessed workloads in sequence