9.0 Learning Checklist: AI Agents and Agent Systems
Use this page as a printable checklist. If you need the full explanation, return to the Chapter 9 entry page.
Two-Hour First Pass
| Time box | Do this | Stop when you can say |
|---|---|---|
| 20 min | Read the execution loop on the entry page | "An Agent is a goal-state-tool-observation loop." |
| 25 min | Run the trace script | "I can replay every action and observation." |
| 25 min | Skim 9.1 and 9.2 | "I can separate Agent, workflow, RAG, ReAct, and Plan-and-Execute." |
| 25 min | Skim 9.3 tool safety | "Tool schema and permissions matter more than clever prompting." |
| 25 min | Read the boundary map | "I know when not to use an Agent." |
Required Evidence
| Evidence | Minimum version |
|---|---|
tools_schema.md | 1-2 tools with name, purpose, parameters, return value, errors, and risk level |
agent_traces.jsonl | at least three runs with goal, step, action, input, observation, and result |
safety_boundary.md | maximum steps, tool whitelist, blocked actions, human approval rules |
failure_cases.md | at least three failures: wrong tool, bad parameter, loop, blocked permission, unsupported answer |
eval_tasks.csv | 3-5 fixed tasks with expected outcome and success criteria |
README.md | run command, trace example, safety example, evaluation result, limitation |
Quality Gates
| Gate | Pass condition |
|---|---|
| Tool schema | Each tool has purpose, parameters, return value, errors, and risk level. |
| Trace replay | A reviewer can replay why every tool call happened. |
| Safety boundary | Non-whitelisted or risky actions are blocked or routed to human approval. |
| Stop control | Max steps and stop conditions prevent loops and cost spikes. |
Exit Questions
- Can you explain why an Agent is different from a normal LLM application?
- Can you show a trace and explain why each tool call happened?
- Can you block a risky or non-whitelisted tool?
- Can you define a stop condition and maximum step count?
- Can you explain why multi-agent should come after single-Agent reliability?
If the answer is yes, continue to the next direction: deployment, multimodal Agents, or the final course project.