chapter two

2 Turn a task into an agent architecture

 

This chapter covers

  • Identifying the capabilities an agent needs with the seven-module capability stack
  • Connecting capabilities through the Perception-Reasoning-Action loop and runtime architecture
  • Comparing execution structures with the two-axis pattern map
  • Deciding when one agent needs delegation and where autonomy needs safeguards
  • Applying the decisions to Argus and run its first PRA loop against a real code diff
"Each pattern describes a problem which occurs over and over again in our environment, and then describes the core of the solution to that problem, in such a way that you can use this solution a million times over."

— Christopher Alexander, A Pattern Language (1977)

An agent architecture begins with a business task and its constraints: what the system must perceive, remember, decide, and change; which failures are tolerable; and where people must remain in control. This chapter gives you a sequence for turning those constraints into an architecture. You will identify the capabilities the task needs, connect them through a runtime, compare execution structures, and sketch a first design before selecting any pattern.

2.1 Choose the capabilities the task requires

2.1.1 The agent capability stack

2.1.2 Design the cognitive engine: The Perception-Reasoning-Action loop

2.2 Turn capabilities into a system architecture

2.2.1 How information flows through cognitive modules

2.2.2 Runtime virtual machine

2.2.3 The external world boundary

2.2.4 How production systems instantiate the architecture

2.3 Use the two-axis map to compare pattern choices

2.3.1 The execution topology axis

2.3.2 Why you need both dimensions

2.3.3 The complete pattern map

2.3.4 Scope and limitations of the map

2.3.5 The pattern selection card

2.3.6 How to read the rest of this book

2.4 Decide when to scale beyond one agent

2.4.1 Start with the single-agent default

2.4.2 Scale only after hitting a structural wall

2.4.3 What multi-agent costs you

2.5 Set trust boundaries before granting autonomy

2.6 Apply the decisions: The Argus skeleton

2.6.1 The PRA loop in 50 lines

2.6.2 Try it yourself

2.6.3 The same pattern, different frameworks

2.7 Summary

2.8 References