From Signal over Noise #14

Agent Anatomy Scorecard

6 layers. 18 checkpoints. Weighted scoring.
Production layers count double because that's where 95% of teams stall.

By Doneyli De Jesus · Principal AI Architect

Memory

0/6

Agent reads persistent files at startup (not just conversation context) +1 pts

Memory has at least 2 levels (global + project or equivalent) +2 pts

Sensitive information is governed (not everything gets synthesized) +3 pts

Action

0/6

Agent executes shell commands or API calls (not just generates text) +1 pts

Actions are gated by hooks or approval workflows +2 pts

Tool access is structured (MCP, function calling, or equivalent) +3 pts

Brain

0/6

You use different model tiers for different task complexity +1 pts

Model references are configuration, not hardcoded +2 pts

You can swap providers without rewriting agent logic +3 pts

The Production Gap

Foundation Health 0%

Build layers 1-3 first. Production layer scores are multiplied by your foundation health.

Skills

0/9

Agent has reusable instruction sets for recurring task types +1.5 pts

Each skill includes its own quality gates or validation +3 pts

Skills are composable (not monolithic prompts) +4.5 pts

Delegation

0/12

Different agents handle different task types (not one agent for everything) +2 pts

There's a clear escalation path when a sub-agent fails +4 pts

You can trace which agent handled which task +6 pts

Governance

0/12

At least one automated gate prevents bad outputs (hook, quality check, etc.) +2 pts

Agent actions are logged and auditable +4 pts

There are explicit boundaries on what agents can and cannot do +6 pts

Your score is ready. Reveal your results:

out of 51

Prototype

Check the boxes above to see where your agent architecture stands.

Memory0

Action0

Brain0

Skills0

Delegation0

Governance0

This scorecard is from Anatomy of an AI Agent, Newsletter #14. The full breakdown covers each layer with production code, architecture diagrams, and the three layers Marc Andreessen left out.

Read the full newsletter

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