{
  "architecture": {
    "criteria": [
      {
        "allowedAnswers": [
          "unknown",
          "yes",
          "no"
        ],
        "core": true,
        "id": "evaluation_ready",
        "question": "Is there a representative evaluation set and an explicit acceptance decision?"
      },
      {
        "allowedAnswers": [
          "unknown",
          "yes",
          "no"
        ],
        "core": true,
        "id": "fixed_steps",
        "question": "Can the work be described as a stable sequence of steps?"
      },
      {
        "allowedAnswers": [
          "unknown",
          "yes",
          "no"
        ],
        "core": true,
        "id": "external_knowledge",
        "question": "Does the task need a controlled external knowledge source?"
      },
      {
        "allowedAnswers": [
          "unknown",
          "yes",
          "no"
        ],
        "core": true,
        "id": "tool_actions",
        "question": "Must the system perform external tool actions?"
      },
      {
        "allowedAnswers": [
          "unknown",
          "yes",
          "no"
        ],
        "core": true,
        "id": "independent_subtasks",
        "question": "Can subtasks be isolated with explicit input and output contracts?"
      },
      {
        "allowedAnswers": [
          "unknown",
          "yes",
          "no"
        ],
        "core": true,
        "id": "parallel_justified",
        "question": "Does a measured baseline justify the added coordination cost?"
      },
      {
        "allowedAnswers": [
          "unknown",
          "yes",
          "no"
        ],
        "core": false,
        "id": "approval_boundary",
        "question": "For tool actions, are authorization and human approval boundaries explicit?"
      },
      {
        "allowedAnswers": [
          "unknown",
          "yes",
          "no"
        ],
        "core": false,
        "id": "recovery_tested",
        "question": "For tool actions, has failure recovery been exercised?"
      }
    ],
    "limitations": [
      "Original engineering proposal, not an empirical benchmark or a released canonical source.",
      "Patterns may be combined after evaluation; the first match is a starting point, not proof of fitness.",
      "The 2024 pattern reference is conceptual; current framework features must be verified separately."
    ],
    "method": "Ascending priority, first matching rule; all AND any AND none; unspecified answers are unknown.",
    "references": [
      {
        "checked_at": "2026-09-17",
        "scope": "Conceptual distinction between fixed workflows and dynamic agents, and common composition patterns; not validation of these proposed rules.",
        "url": "https://www.anthropic.com/engineering/building-effective-agents"
      }
    ],
    "rules": [
      {
        "id": "ARCH-NO-EVALUATION",
        "next_steps": [
          "Define representative cases, failure criteria and an accountable acceptance owner before selecting an autonomous path."
        ],
        "outcome": "EVALUATION_REQUIRED",
        "priority": 10,
        "rejected_options": [
          "AUTONOMOUS_RELEASE"
        ],
        "when": {
          "all": [
            {
              "criterionId": "evaluation_ready",
              "operator": "equals",
              "value": "no"
            }
          ],
          "any": [],
          "none": []
        }
      },
      {
        "id": "ARCH-UNKNOWN-CORE",
        "next_steps": [
          "Resolve the unknown core questions; unknown is not equivalent to no."
        ],
        "outcome": "INSUFFICIENT_EVIDENCE",
        "priority": 20,
        "rejected_options": [],
        "when": {
          "all": [],
          "any": [
            {
              "criterionId": "evaluation_ready",
              "operator": "equals",
              "value": "unknown"
            },
            {
              "criterionId": "fixed_steps",
              "operator": "equals",
              "value": "unknown"
            },
            {
              "criterionId": "external_knowledge",
              "operator": "equals",
              "value": "unknown"
            },
            {
              "criterionId": "tool_actions",
              "operator": "equals",
              "value": "unknown"
            },
            {
              "criterionId": "independent_subtasks",
              "operator": "equals",
              "value": "unknown"
            },
            {
              "criterionId": "parallel_justified",
              "operator": "equals",
              "value": "unknown"
            }
          ],
          "none": []
        }
      },
      {
        "id": "ARCH-ACTION-BOUNDARY",
        "next_steps": [
          "Define scoped authorization, approval, containment and recovery for external effects."
        ],
        "outcome": "ACTION_BOUNDARY_REQUIRED",
        "priority": 30,
        "rejected_options": [
          "AUTONOMOUS_TOOL_ACTIONS"
        ],
        "when": {
          "all": [
            {
              "criterionId": "tool_actions",
              "operator": "equals",
              "value": "yes"
            }
          ],
          "any": [
            {
              "criterionId": "approval_boundary",
              "operator": "not_equals",
              "value": "yes"
            },
            {
              "criterionId": "recovery_tested",
              "operator": "not_equals",
              "value": "yes"
            }
          ],
          "none": []
        }
      },
      {
        "id": "ARCH-FIXED-WORKFLOW",
        "next_steps": [
          "Implement explicit step transitions and validation gates; attach retrieval or approved tools only where the step requires them."
        ],
        "outcome": "DETERMINISTIC_WORKFLOW",
        "priority": 40,
        "rejected_options": [],
        "when": {
          "all": [
            {
              "criterionId": "fixed_steps",
              "operator": "equals",
              "value": "yes"
            }
          ],
          "any": [],
          "none": []
        }
      },
      {
        "id": "ARCH-RETRIEVAL",
        "next_steps": [
          "Validate source access, retrieval coverage and answer grounding against the evaluation set."
        ],
        "outcome": "RETRIEVAL_PIPELINE",
        "priority": 50,
        "rejected_options": [],
        "when": {
          "all": [
            {
              "criterionId": "tool_actions",
              "operator": "equals",
              "value": "no"
            },
            {
              "criterionId": "external_knowledge",
              "operator": "equals",
              "value": "yes"
            }
          ],
          "any": [],
          "none": []
        }
      },
      {
        "id": "ARCH-ORCHESTRATION",
        "next_steps": [
          "Define worker boundaries, a coordinator merge contract, cancellation and duplicate-effect handling before an evaluation."
        ],
        "outcome": "ORCHESTRATOR_WORKERS",
        "priority": 60,
        "rejected_options": [],
        "when": {
          "all": [
            {
              "criterionId": "independent_subtasks",
              "operator": "equals",
              "value": "yes"
            },
            {
              "criterionId": "parallel_justified",
              "operator": "equals",
              "value": "yes"
            }
          ],
          "any": [],
          "none": []
        }
      },
      {
        "id": "ARCH-BOUNDED-AGENT",
        "next_steps": [
          "Start with one agent and scoped tools, iteration limits and a tested stop path; compare it with the simplest working baseline."
        ],
        "outcome": "BOUNDED_TOOL_AGENT",
        "priority": 70,
        "rejected_options": [],
        "when": {
          "all": [
            {
              "criterionId": "tool_actions",
              "operator": "equals",
              "value": "yes"
            }
          ],
          "any": [],
          "none": []
        }
      },
      {
        "id": "ARCH-BASELINE",
        "next_steps": [
          "Evaluate a single-call baseline before adding dynamic coordination."
        ],
        "outcome": "SINGLE_CALL_BASELINE",
        "priority": 80,
        "rejected_options": [],
        "when": {
          "all": [
            {
              "criterionId": "evaluation_ready",
              "operator": "equals",
              "value": "yes"
            }
          ],
          "any": [],
          "none": []
        }
      }
    ],
    "version": "0.1.0-draft.1"
  }
}