# Designing a Maestro Case plan

> Design a case plan in Studio Web using the case plan canvas, including how to add and configure triggers, stages, tasks, rules, SLAs, and the Case Manager.

The case plan designer is a visual canvas where you model the lifecycle of a case using stages, tasks, and rules.

## The case plan canvas

The canvas shows the structure of your case plan as a flow from left to right, starting with the trigger and progressing through stages.

- **Trigger** — the circular element at the left of the canvas. Select it to configure how a case instance is started in the **Trigger properties** panel.
- **Stages** — rectangular cards representing named phases of the case (for example, Intake, Review, Settlement). Stages are connected by arrows that indicate the primary progression path.
- **Arrows** — connect the trigger to the first stage and connect stages to each other. They represent the expected progression path and generate automatic entry rules between connected stages.

### Case plan properties

When no element is selected, the **Case plan properties** panel on the right shows case-level settings:

- **Description** — an optional description of the case plan.
- **Case ID** — the identifier format for case instances:
  - **Constant prefix** — Maestro generates identifiers automatically using the prefix you set (for example, `CASE` produces IDs like `CASE-12345`).
  - **External key** — an identifier passed from an upstream system such as a CRM or ERP at the moment a case is created.
- **SLA and escalations** — the overall resolution target for the case. Select **+ Add SLA** to set a case-level due time (duration and unit). Add an escalation rule when you want a specific action to trigger automatically if the SLA is at risk or breached — for example, notifying a manager, reassigning the case, or creating a priority flag.
- **Completion rules** — the condition under which the entire case is marked as completed. A default rule is created automatically: the case completes when all required stages are completed. Select **+ Add case completion rule** to add additional conditions.
- **Case app** — select **Configure case app** to set up the built-in workspace that case workers and managers use to view and act on live cases.

## The Case Manager widget

The **Case Manager** widget at the top of the canvas is the AI Orchestrator of the case. It has three tabs:

- **Plan** — returns to the canvas view.
- **Rules** — opens a unified table of all rules defined across the case, with filters for Scope, Stage, When, and Then. Use the **+ Add rule** button to create a new rule and select its type: **Task entry**, **Stage entry**, **Stage exit**, **Stage completion**, or **Case completion**.
- **Agent** — configures the AI agent that the Case Manager uses when no rule covers a decision. You can assign a UiPath **Agent**, an **External agent**, or an **Agentic process** to act as the Case Manager agent. This tab is only displayed when the **Add Agent to Case Manager** toggle is turned on in the Case Manager properties panel.

### Case Manager properties

Selecting the Case Manager widget opens the **Case Manager properties** panel on the right. The panel contains **Events**, **Rules**, and **Agent** sections — the same Rules and Agent that are also accessible as tabs on the widget. The **Events** section is only available here and lists all events the Case Manager can respond to.

The **Agent** tab on the widget and the **Agent** section in the properties panel are only displayed when the **Add Agent to Case Manager** toggle is turned on.

- **Internal events** — emitted by the case lifecycle itself: Case lifecycle (case entered, case completed, case exited), Stage lifecycle (stage entered, stage completed, stage exited, next stage manually selected), and Task lifecycle (task entered, task completed, task triggered manually).
- **External events** — Global events available across the whole case (select **+ Add global event**) and rule events scoped to specific rules (select **+ Add rule**).

## Adding triggers

A case plan starts with a default trigger, but you can add multiple triggers to support different entry points for the same case. For example, one trigger can start a case when a specific connector event arrives, while another lets operators start it manually from Orchestrator.

When a case starts, all stages that have a **Case entered** entry rule activate in parallel.

Select a trigger on the canvas to configure it in the **Trigger properties** panel.

### Trigger properties

- **Name** — the display name of the trigger.
- **Implementation** — the action that starts a new case instance:
  - **Manual trigger** — starts a case on demand.
  - **Connector** — starts a case when a connector event occurs. Select **Wait for connector** and then add the connector activity to listen for.
  - **Tools** — starts a case on a schedule. Select **Wait for timer** and set the timer type to **Cycle**.

## Adding stages

To add a stage, select the **+** button that appears between two existing stages or at the end of the canvas. To connect two stages, hover over the edge of a stage card until the connector handle appears, then drag it to another stage.

Each stage card displays:

- The stage name and its current SLA setting.
- Action buttons for SLA and rules configuration.
- A **+** button in the top-right corner to add tasks to the stage.

By default, stages are primary — they form the expected progression path of the case. You can mark a stage as secondary in the **Stage properties** panel to turn it into an exception or alternative path that activates based on its entry condition, regardless of where the case currently is.

### Stage properties

Selecting a stage card opens the **Stage properties** panel:

- **Name**, **Description**, **ID** — identify the stage.
- **Secondary stage** — toggle on to make the stage a secondary (exception) stage. Secondary stages have no incoming edges and activate only when their entry condition evaluates true, regardless of where the case currently is.
- **Required for case completion** — toggle on to require this stage to complete before the case can close.
- **SLA and escalations** — the SLA duration and escalation rules scoped to this stage.
- **Entry rules** — specify when a case enters this stage. The **Enter stage when** dropdown sets the triggering event (for example, **Case entered** or **Stage completed**). The **Interrupt active work** toggle controls whether entering this stage exits all currently active stages.
- **Completion rules** — specify what must be true for the stage to be marked complete and the case to move forward. The default condition is **All required tasks are completed**.
- **Exit rules** — specify conditions that move the case out of the stage before it completes normally, typically used for exception paths.

## Adding tasks

When adding a task, you can add it as a placeholder and configure the implementation later by linking it to an existing project, or create a new project directly — which redirects you to the project canvas and automatically adds the new project to the solution.

To add a task to a stage, select the **+** button in the top-right corner of the stage card. The **Add task** menu lists the available task types:

| Task type | Description |
|---|---|
| **Agent** | A UiPath AI agent that reasons over data for judgment-based work |
| **External agent** | A third-party AI agent invoked via API |
| **External workflow** | A workflow defined outside UiPath |
| **Agentic process** | A Maestro BPMN process invoked as a task |
| **RPA workflow** | UI automation for legacy systems |
| **Human action** | A form or approval assigned to a person, built with Action Apps |
| **Connector activity** | An Integration Service connector action |
| **Wait for connector** | Pauses the task until an external connector event arrives |
| **API workflow** | An API workflow invoked as a task |
| **Function** | A UiPath Function invoked as a task |
| **Wait for timer** | Pauses the task until a specified duration elapses or a target date is reached |

Tasks are grouped within the stage card by execution mode: **Sequential tasks**, **Event-triggered tasks**, and **Manually triggered tasks**.

### Task properties

Selecting a task opens the **Task properties** panel. Each task has three execution modes, selectable at the top of the panel:

- **Sequential** — the task runs in the order it appears in the stage, starting after the previous sequential task completes.
- **Event-triggered** — the task starts when a configured event occurs, such as when selected tasks complete or a specific condition becomes true. Event-triggered tasks can fire independently of the sequential order and may fire more than once.
- **Manually triggered** — the task appears in the Case App and is started on demand by a case worker. It does not run automatically.

For all execution modes, the panel also shows:

- **Run only once** — when toggled on, the task is skipped if the stage is re-entered. Its previous output is retained.
- **Required for stage completion** — when toggled on (not available for manually triggered tasks), the stage cannot complete until this task is done.
- **Entry rules** — the condition that controls when the task starts within the stage.
- **Implementation** — the task type and the specific automation, agent, or action to invoke.

## Related links

- [Case App](https://docs.uipath.com/maestro/automation-cloud/latest/user-guide/introduction-to-maestro-case#case-app-(maestro))
- [How to set SLAs and automated escalation rules](https://docs.uipath.com/maestro/automation-cloud/latest/user-guide/how-to-set-slas-and-automated-escalation-rules)
- [Exit rules and early stage termination](https://docs.uipath.com/maestro/automation-cloud/latest/user-guide/maestro-case-understanding-exit-rules)
- [Maestro case management component dictionary](https://docs.uipath.com/maestro/automation-cloud/latest/user-guide/maestro-case-management-component-dictionary)
- [Building an insurance claims case in 30 minutes](https://docs.uipath.com/maestro/automation-cloud/latest/user-guide/building-an-insurance-claims-case-in-30-minutes)
- [Publishing and deploying a case plan](https://docs.uipath.com/studio-web/automation-cloud/latest/user-guide/publishing-and-deploying-a-maestro-case-plan)