What makes an agent handoff reliable?
A reliable handoff supplies one approved plan step, relevant context, permitted scope, acceptance criteria, expected evidence and clear human authorization to begin. It transfers an inspectable assignment rather than relying on whatever an agent remembers from earlier discussion.
Handoff connects TASK to IMPLEMENTATION in AI Architect Mastery's AI Driven Development Methodology. It makes delegation explicit within Human Governance; it is not a new Core phase.
What must cross the boundary?
- Authority: the current approved PRD and applicable PLAN step.
- Responsibility: the work assigned and its expected outputs.
- Context: relevant files, interfaces, constraints and existing conventions.
- Limits: permitted scope, tools, autonomy and stop conditions.
- Acceptance: required behavior and the evidence needed for review.
How to avoid stale or mixed context
Make the approved artifacts explicit when moving between roles or sessions. Exclude rejected proposals from the active assignment, or label them as rejected history. If the underlying plan has changed, refresh the handoff before execution continues.
Constructed handoff: one authorized change
The human authorizes the approved export authorization step, references the current access rule, limits edits to the handler and tests, preserves the response format and requires both allowed and denied request evidence. An unresolved ownership rule is a stop condition, not an invitation to choose one.
A comprehensive prompt is not proof of readiness
The runtime still needs access to the relevant code and verification environment. If the agent cannot run a required check, it must report the gap. A well-written assignment cannot manufacture missing permissions or evidence.