Workshop: contract for the team's first agent in 90 minutes
A team version of the Agent Contract worksheet from Volume 2, Chapter 3. Participants: the 4-8 people in the function where the agent will work, including anyone worried that "agent" means job cuts. Their presence is part of the point of the session. Version: 2026-07-09.
Session result: a completed contract for one agent, covering its role, boundaries, escalation, review, stop threshold, and owner. The team also leaves with a list of cases for a future evaluation set.
Preparation for the facilitator
- Choose a process, ideally through the process scoring workshop.
- Put the contract template from the worksheet on a board with all ten fields blank.
- Keep the two examples from the worksheet, the support agent and analyst agent, nearby.
90-minute agenda
| Time | Section | Method |
|---|---|---|
| 0-10 | Frame | "An agent is not a magical employee. It is a role with boundaries and an owner. Today we decide what it must not do." Fear is allowed, and the agenda gives it time near the end. |
| 10-20 | Role and mission | Write one sentence explaining why the agent exists. If the team cannot write it, the process is not ready. Return to scoring. |
| 20-40 | Boundaries and escalation | Start in silence. Each person writes three things the agent must "never do without approval" and three signals for "send this to a person now." Combine the answers. People who know the worst cases should lead this section, and that is often not the manager. |
| 40-55 | Review and stop threshold | Decide who checks the result, how many cases they review each day, and which checklist they use. "AI checks AI" is not enough. Choose one numeric threshold and an action when it is reached: pause, roll back, or stop. |
| 55-70 | Memory, inputs, and access | Give the minimum access needed for the mission (least privilege). State what the agent must never remember, including personal data and secrets. |
| 70-80 | People | Say directly how team roles change. Name the people who will maintain the knowledge base and audit the agent. These are new tasks. |
| 80-90 | Owner and preflight | Name one owner, not "the team." Read the preflight checklist from the worksheet aloud. Photograph the contract. |
Team homework for one week
Each participant brings five real past cases with a known correct outcome, including one or two frightening cases. These become raw material for the evaluation set. The team can collect more than 20 cases in one week without a separate project.
Common traps
- A contract without a stop threshold is a wish, not a contract. Set the number before launch. The Klarna review shows what happens when public pressure reaches the threshold first.
- "We all own it" means that nobody owns it.
- Only the manager writes the boundaries. Frontline staff know the worst cases. Their list of actions that require approval matters more.