Autonomy boundaries for agent work
An autonomy boundary defines what an agent may decide and execute independently, and when it must stop, ask, escalate or return control to the human. It makes delegation explicit rather than treating tool access as unlimited authority.
The boundary is part of a TASK or other Work Item in AI Architect Mastery's AI Driven Development Methodology. It supports Human Governance: the human remains responsible for setting and reviewing it.
Why scope alone is not enough
A file list states where changes may occur, but not which decisions are permitted. An agent working in one file might still alter an interface, weaken authorization or introduce a new dependency. Boundaries cover decisions, permissions and escalation as well as paths.
How to state a useful boundary
- Specify allowed changes and decisions within the approved requirement.
- Identify protected contracts, data and unrelated behavior.
- Identify permitted tools and execution environments.
- Require a stop when an assumption, permission or dependency invalidates the assignment.
- Specify what the agent should report when it cannot continue safely.
Constructed boundary: preserve the interface
"Update the export authorization handler and its tests using the existing helper. Do not change the public response format or ownership policy. Stop if the helper cannot express the approved rule, and report the conflicting requirement with evidence."
This permits implementation decisions inside the correction while reserving architectural and policy changes for the human.
Instructions and enforcement are different
A written boundary expresses the assignment; the Agent Harness and runtime determine which permissions can actually be enforced. Verify that environment rather than assuming prose alone prevents an unauthorized action.