Autonomous Engineer plan and work item states

---
title: Autonomous Engineer plan and work item states
description: Plan and work item states appear during planning and execution. Use this reference to identify where a plan or work item is in the execution process and what action is required.
locale: en-US
canonical_url: https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/australia/application-development/ba-spec-mode-work-item-states.html
release: australia
topic_type: reference
last_updated: "2026-09-09"
reading_time_minutes: 2
keywords: [ServiceNow Otto, AI Agents, generative AI, agentic AI, Autonomous Engineer, work item states, plan states, plan dashboard, plan execution, background agent, ATF tests, update set, draft, queued, in progress, needs validation, blocked, cancelled]
audience: programmer
breadcrumb: [Reference, Autonomous Engineer, Build, AI Workflow Factory Prime, Agentic app development, Building applications]
---

# Autonomous Engineer plan and work item states

Plan and work item states appear during planning and execution. Use this reference to identify where a plan or work item is in the execution process and what action is required.

## Plan states

The Autonomous Engineer dashboard displays the current state of the plan.

-   **Standby**

    The plan is not in progress. All work items are in Draft state.

-   **In progress**

    Autonomous Engineer is actively working on the plan. Work items are in progress or waiting.

-   **In review**

    Autonomous Engineer has completed all work. Work items are pending your review.

-   **Completed**

    The plan is complete and ready for deployment.

-   **Cancelled**

    The plan is cancelled and does not execute.


## Work item states

Each work item moves through states during plan execution. The plan dashboard displays the current state of every work item.

-   **Draft**

    The work item is generated during planning and is not yet queued for execution.

-   **Ready**

    The work item is reviewed and approved, and is waiting for its dependencies to complete before it is queued.

-   **Queued**

    The work item is in the execution queue and waits to be picked up by a background agent.

-   **Waiting**

    The work item has unmet dependencies and can't begin execution until those dependencies are complete.

-   **In progress**

    A background agent is actively building the work item.

-   **Needs validation**

    The work item is built and Automated Test Framework \(ATF\) tests have run. The work item requires your review before it can be marked complete.

-   **Complete**

    You have reviewed and approved the work item. Its artifacts are included in the plan update set.

-   **Blocked \(user input\)**

    The background agent requires information from you before it can continue. A notification appears in the chat panel.

-   **Blocked \(error\)**

    The background agent encountered an error it can't self-heal. Open the work item or ask Build Agent in the chat panel for details, then ask Build Agent to retry.

-   **Stopped**

    The background agent encountered an error and stopped execution. Autonomous Engineer retries the work item automatically before displaying it for manual intervention. If the work item can't be resolved after the automatic retry limit is reached, it appears in the plan dashboard and the chat panel for your review.

-   **Cancelled**

    The work item is cancelled and does not execute. Cancelled work items aren't included in the plan update set.


**Parent Topic:**[Autonomous Engineer reference](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/application-development/autonomous-engineer-reference-landing.md)