Abstract: Not-started CRM dialogs are described to facilitate dialog management in a cooperative manner between a CRM system and a client. A workflow defining a set of actions to complete for a business process can trigger a dialog in a “not-started” state and assign the dialog to a particular user. Pending completion of the dialog, the workflow can be paused or continue in the background to a designated stopping point. The dialog that is assigned can appear in a list of scheduled/pending tasks for the particular user and can include a link or other functionality to resume the dialog. Selection of the dialog from the task list can cause the dialog to resume to an “in-progress” state and the status of the dialog can be updated. Thereafter, the workflow can detect completion of the dialog and continue with further actions to complete the business process.