diff --git a/src/main/java/org/opensearch/flowframework/FlowFrameworkPlugin.java b/src/main/java/org/opensearch/flowframework/FlowFrameworkPlugin.java
index 14df7e17e..a1c75043d 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/opensearch/flowframework/FlowFrameworkPlugin.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/opensearch/flowframework/FlowFrameworkPlugin.java
@@ -158,7 +158,7 @@ public List<ExecutorBuilder<?>> getExecutorBuilders(Settings settings) {
                 settings,
                 PROVISION_THREAD_POOL,
                 OpenSearchExecutors.allocatedProcessors(settings),
-                10,
+                100,
                 FLOW_FRAMEWORK_THREAD_POOL_PREFIX + PROVISION_THREAD_POOL
             )
         );
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/opensearch/flowframework/model/WorkflowNode.java b/src/main/java/org/opensearch/flowframework/model/WorkflowNode.java
index 42d59e07f..706cd2c62 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/opensearch/flowframework/model/WorkflowNode.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/opensearch/flowframework/model/WorkflowNode.java
@@ -24,7 +24,9 @@
 import java.util.Objects;
 
 import static org.opensearch.core.xcontent.XContentParserUtils.ensureExpectedToken;
+import static org.opensearch.flowframework.util.ParseUtils.buildStringToObjectMap;
 import static org.opensearch.flowframework.util.ParseUtils.buildStringToStringMap;
+import static org.opensearch.flowframework.util.ParseUtils.parseStringToObjectMap;
 import static org.opensearch.flowframework.util.ParseUtils.parseStringToStringMap;
 
 /**
@@ -93,7 +95,7 @@ public XContentBuilder toXContent(XContentBuilder builder, Params params) throws
                     }
                 } else {
                     for (Map<?, ?> map : (Map<?, ?>[]) e.getValue()) {
-                        buildStringToStringMap(xContentBuilder, map);
+                        buildStringToObjectMap(xContentBuilder, map);
                     }
                 }
                 xContentBuilder.endArray();
@@ -150,9 +152,9 @@ public static WorkflowNode parse(XContentParser parser) throws IOException {
                                     }
                                     userInputs.put(inputFieldName, processorList.toArray(new PipelineProcessor[0]));
                                 } else {
-                                    List<Map<String, String>> mapList = new ArrayList<>();
+                                    List<Map<String, Object>> mapList = new ArrayList<>();
                                     while (parser.nextToken() != XContentParser.Token.END_ARRAY) {
-                                        mapList.add(parseStringToStringMap(parser));
+                                        mapList.add(parseStringToObjectMap(parser));
                                     }
                                     userInputs.put(inputFieldName, mapList.toArray(new Map[0]));
                                 }
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/opensearch/flowframework/util/ParseUtils.java b/src/main/java/org/opensearch/flowframework/util/ParseUtils.java
index 9e3b8d067..6e1a506a1 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/opensearch/flowframework/util/ParseUtils.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/opensearch/flowframework/util/ParseUtils.java
@@ -84,6 +84,25 @@ public static void buildStringToStringMap(XContentBuilder xContentBuilder, Map<?
         xContentBuilder.endObject();
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Builds an XContent object representing a map of String keys to Object values.
+     *
+     * @param xContentBuilder An XContent builder whose position is at the start of the map object to build
+     * @param map A map as key-value String to Object.
+     * @throws IOException on a build failure
+     */
+    public static void buildStringToObjectMap(XContentBuilder xContentBuilder, Map<?, ?> map) throws IOException {
+        xContentBuilder.startObject();
+        for (Entry<?, ?> e : map.entrySet()) {
+            if (e.getValue() instanceof String) {
+                xContentBuilder.field((String) e.getKey(), (String) e.getValue());
+            } else {
+                xContentBuilder.field((String) e.getKey(), e.getValue());
+            }
+        }
+        xContentBuilder.endObject();
+    }
+
     /**
      * Builds an XContent object representing a LLMSpec.
      *
@@ -117,6 +136,30 @@ public static Map<String, String> parseStringToStringMap(XContentParser parser)
         return map;
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Parses an XContent object representing a map of String keys to Object values.
+     * The Object value here can either be a string or a map
+     * @param parser An XContent parser whose position is at the start of the map object to parse
+     * @return A map as identified by the key-value pairs in the XContent
+     * @throws IOException on a parse failure
+     */
+    public static Map<String, Object> parseStringToObjectMap(XContentParser parser) throws IOException {
+        ensureExpectedToken(XContentParser.Token.START_OBJECT, parser.currentToken(), parser);
+        Map<String, Object> map = new HashMap<>();
+        while (parser.nextToken() != XContentParser.Token.END_OBJECT) {
+            String fieldName = parser.currentName();
+            parser.nextToken();
+            if (parser.currentToken() == XContentParser.Token.START_OBJECT) {
+                // If the current token is a START_OBJECT, parse it as Map<String, String>
+                map.put(fieldName, parseStringToStringMap(parser));
+            } else {
+                // Otherwise, parse it as a string
+                map.put(fieldName, parser.text());
+            }
+        }
+        return map;
+    }
+
     /**
      * Parse content parser to {@link java.time.Instant}.
      *
diff --git a/src/test/java/org/opensearch/flowframework/util/ParseUtilsTests.java b/src/test/java/org/opensearch/flowframework/util/ParseUtilsTests.java
index 94fe7b01e..02222b9aa 100644
--- a/src/test/java/org/opensearch/flowframework/util/ParseUtilsTests.java
+++ b/src/test/java/org/opensearch/flowframework/util/ParseUtilsTests.java
@@ -60,6 +60,16 @@ public void testToInstantWithNotValue() throws IOException {
         assertNull(instant);
     }
 
+    public void testBuildAndParseStringToStringMap() throws IOException {
+        Map<String, String> stringMap = Map.ofEntries(Map.entry("one", "two"));
+        XContentBuilder builder = XContentFactory.jsonBuilder();
+        ParseUtils.buildStringToStringMap(builder, stringMap);
+        XContentParser parser = this.createParser(builder);
+        parser.nextToken();
+        Map<String, String> parsedMap = ParseUtils.parseStringToStringMap(parser);
+        assertEquals(stringMap.get("one"), parsedMap.get("one"));
+    }
+
     public void testGetInputsFromPreviousSteps() {
         WorkflowData currentNodeInputs = new WorkflowData(
             Map.ofEntries(Map.entry("content1", 1), Map.entry("param1", 2), Map.entry("content3", "${{step1.output1}}")),