Practical guide · Orange Ink
How to write an AI agent task specification
A useful specification describes observable behaviour rather than assigning an impressive job title.
- 01
Define boundaries
State the goal, non-goals, required inputs and acceptable output.
- 02
Specify tool contracts
Document allowed calls, parameters, permissions and failure responses.
- 03
Set completion rules
Name evidence, retries, escalation points and the human acceptance test.
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Questions, answered
Before you decide
How detailed should the spec be?
Detailed enough that a tester can tell whether each action and final result is acceptable.