Pipefy Process Design

Pipefy Process Design

Read the MCP reference or CLI reference for the surface you are using. Load only the relevant reference.

This skill activates when the user wants consulting help to design a process — not when they want you to build one. If the user already knows what they want (gave you phases, fields, a spec, or a clear use case), do not use this skill. Execute directly.

When to use vs when to execute

Prerequisites

• Understand the user's industry and use case before advising structure.
• Always search for existing pipes in the org before recommending a new one (search_pipes).

Discovery phase

1. Research existing org structure:

   Operation: search_pipes pipe_name="" (empty search returns all visible pipes) Operation: get_organization organization_id=<id>

2. Understand the process intent:

   • What triggers a new case? (form submission, email, manual)
   • Who are the actors? (submitter, approver, ops team)
   • What are the key decision points? (approve/reject, escalate, auto-close)
   • What data needs to be tracked? (fields per phase)
   • Are there related processes that should be connected? (use relations)

3. Identify the right Pipefy components:

   Need	Component
   Workflow stages	Pipe + Phases
   Structured data per stage	Phase fields
   Reference/lookup data	Database table
   Cross-process linkage	Pipe relation
   Automatic actions	Automation rule
   AI-driven processing	AI automation or AI agent

Design principles

• Start with the outcome. What does "done" look like for this process?
• Name phases for states, not actions. "Under Review" not "Review It".
• Keep the start form minimal. Only ask for data the requester can provide on day 1.
• Use required fields sparingly. Every required field is a blocker.
• Design for the exception. Add a "Blocked" or "On Hold" phase for edge cases.
• Automate the obvious. If a transition always happens under the same condition, it should be an automation, not a manual step.

Common patterns

Linear approval flow

Submission → Under Review → Approved / Rejected → Done

• Start form: requester fills details.
• "Under Review" phase: approver field + due date.
• Automation: notify approver on card creation.

Multi-stage pipeline

Intake → Triage → In Progress → Testing → Deployed

• Each phase has role-specific fields.
• Automations advance cards on condition.
• SLA fields track time-in-phase.

Hub-and-spoke (related processes)

• Central "intake" pipe connected via pipe relation to domain-specific pipes.
• Child cards created automatically via automation when parent moves to "Escalated".

Output format

After the design consultation, produce a concise summary:

Copy code
Process: <Name>
Phases: [list]
Start form fields: [list with types]
Key automations: [list]
Related processes: [list or "none"]
Impact: [one line: time this design returns to the team against a fully manual run of the same flow; if a phase exists only for human triage, what an automation or an AI agent would change there. Do not start a pipe diagnosis.]
Next step: [execute with pipes-and-cards skill? or more questions?]

Keep Impact to one line. Do not invent volume, hourly cost, or lead time; name every missing number and ask for all of them in one question. For a fuller justification, read pipefy-process-impact.

Success criteria

• User has clarity on phases, fields, and automation triggers before execution starts.
• No duplicate pipes created (checked via search_pipes).
• The design is buildable with available operations (no features promised that don't exist).

See also

• pipefy-building — for execution / build asks, read the router then the domain skill (do not expand this consulting skill into a build playbook).
• pipefy-pipes-and-cards — execute the design once finalized.
• pipefy-automations — add automation rules to the new pipe.
• pipefy-process-intelligence — analyze an existing process for improvement (distinct from designing new).
• pipefy-process-impact to justify a material change in full; this skill only emits the Impact line.