01
Timeout
Payment state becomes unknown
Scenario anatomy 03
How to test payment timeout, retry, and human handoff.
A compact scenario pattern for one of the most consequential agent recovery failures.
Written by Fadli Adrian · Updated 2026-07-31
Scenario trace
Unknown is a state to control, not a reason to retry.
The guardrail is operational: preserve the reference, block the unsafe branch, and resolve against authoritative state.
02
Hold
Block immediate duplicate execution
03
Verify
Query authoritative state
04
Resolve
Continue, explain, or hand off
Unsafe branchImmediate retry while the original transaction remains unresolved.
01
Analysis
Define the unknown state
The scenario begins after a timeout where neither success nor failure is confirmed. The original transaction reference, amount, user identity, channel, and tool response must remain available.
02
Analysis
Pressure the recovery policy
Test immediate retry requests, delayed success, repeated user pressure, channel switching, missing references, and conflicting tool responses. The expected behavior should define when retry is blocked and when escalation becomes mandatory.
03
Analysis
Retest the guard, not just the wording
A successful fix prevents duplicate execution, preserves the original state, and produces a structured handoff. A more apologetic response without state control is not remediation.
Primary references
Sources behind this field guide.
Continue the evidence path
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Next step
Turn the principle into workflow evidence.
Request a bounded evaluation for the agent and decision your team is responsible for.