AI Agent Development

AI Agent Development

Purpose: Build production-ready AI agents with Microsoft Foundry and Agent Framework.
Scope: Agent architecture, model selection, orchestration, observability, evaluation.

When to Use This Skill

• Building AI agents with Microsoft Foundry or Agent Framework
• Selecting LLM models for agent scenarios
• Implementing multi-agent orchestration workflows
• Adding tracing and observability to AI agents
• Evaluating agent quality and response accuracy

Prerequisites

• Python 3.11+ or .NET 8+
• agent-framework-azure-ai package
• Microsoft Foundry workspace with deployed model

Quick Start

Installation

Python (Recommended):

pip install agent-framework-azure-ai --pre  # --pre required during preview

.NET:

dotnet add package Microsoft.Agents.AI.AzureAI --prerelease
dotnet add package Microsoft.Agents.AI.Workflows --prerelease

Model Selection

Top Production Models (Microsoft Foundry):

Deploy Model: Ctrl+Shift+P → AI Toolkit: Deploy Model

Agent Patterns

Single Agent

from pathlib import Path
from agent_framework.openai import OpenAIChatClient

# Load prompt from file — NEVER embed prompts as inline strings
prompt = Path("prompts/assistant.md").read_text(encoding="utf-8")

client = OpenAIChatClient(
    model="gpt-5.1",
    api_key=os.getenv("FOUNDRY_API_KEY"),
    endpoint=os.getenv("FOUNDRY_ENDPOINT")
)

agent = {
    "name": "Assistant",
    "instructions": prompt,  # Loaded from prompts/assistant.md
    "tools": []  # Add tools as needed
}

response = await client.chat(
    messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "Hello"}],
    agent=agent
)

Multi-Agent Orchestration

from pathlib import Path
from agent_framework.workflows import SequentialWorkflow

# Each agent loads its prompt from a dedicated file
researcher = {
    "name": "Researcher",
    "instructions": Path("prompts/researcher.md").read_text(encoding="utf-8")
}
writer = {
    "name": "Writer",
    "instructions": Path("prompts/writer.md").read_text(encoding="utf-8")
}

workflow = SequentialWorkflow(
    agents=[researcher, writer],
    handoff_strategy="on_completion"
)

result = await workflow.run(query="Write about AI agents")

Advanced Patterns: Search github.com/microsoft/agent-framework for:

• Group Chat, Concurrent, Conditional, Loop
• Human-in-the-Loop, Reflection, Fan-out/Fan-in
• MCP, Multimodal, Custom Executors

Best Practices

Prompt & Template File Management

RULE: NEVER embed prompts or output templates as inline strings in code. Always store them as separate files.

Why: Prompts are content, not code. Separating them enables:

• Version control diffs that show exactly what changed in a prompt
• Non-developer editing (PMs, prompt engineers) without touching code
• A/B testing different prompts without code changes
• Reuse across agents, languages, and test harnesses
• Clear separation of concerns (logic vs. content)

Directory Convention:

project/
  prompts/                    # All system/agent prompts
    assistant.md              # One file per agent role
    researcher.md
    writer.md
    reviewer.md
  templates/                  # Output templates used by agents
    report-template.md        # Structured output templates
    email-template.md
    summary-template.md
  config/
    models.yaml               # Model configuration

Loading Pattern:

from pathlib import Path

# Load prompt
prompt = Path("prompts/assistant.md").read_text(encoding="utf-8")

# Load output template and inject into prompt
template = Path("templates/report-template.md").read_text(encoding="utf-8")
prompt_with_template = f"{prompt}\n\n## Output Format\n{template}"

Rules:

• MUST store all system prompts in prompts/ directory as .md or .txt files
• MUST store output format templates in templates/ directory
• MUST NOT embed prompt text longer than one sentence directly in code
• SHOULD use Markdown format for prompts (readable, supports structure)
• SHOULD name files after the agent role: prompts/{agent-name}.md
• SHOULD include a brief comment header in each prompt file (purpose, version, model target)
• MAY use template variables ({variable}) for dynamic content injected at runtime

Development

✅ DO:

• Plan agent architecture before coding (Research → Design → Implement)
• Use Microsoft Foundry models for production
• Implement tracing from day one
• Test with evaluation datasets before deployment
• Use structured outputs for reliable agent responses
• Implement error handling and retry logic
• Version your agents and track changes
• Store all prompts as separate files in prompts/ directory
• Store output templates as separate files in templates/ directory

❌ DON'T:

• Hardcode API keys or endpoints
• Embed prompts or output templates as multi-line strings in code
• Skip tracing setup (critical for debugging)
• Deploy without evaluation
• Use GitHub models in production (free tier has limits)
• Ignore token limits and context windows
• Mix agent logic with business logic

Security

• Store credentials in environment variables or Azure Key Vault
• Validate all tool inputs and outputs
• Implement rate limiting for agent APIs
• Log agent actions for audit trails
• Use role-based access control (RBAC) for Foundry resources
• Review OWASP Top 10 for AI: owasp.org/AI-Security-and-Privacy-Guide

Performance

• Cache model responses when appropriate
• Use batch processing for multiple requests
• Monitor token usage and costs
• Implement timeout handling
• Use async/await for I/O operations
• Consider model size vs. latency tradeoffs

Monitoring

• Track key metrics: latency, success rate, token usage, cost
• Set up alerts for failures and anomalies
• Use structured logging with context
• Integrate with Azure Monitor / Application Insights
• Review traces regularly for optimization opportunities

Production Checklist

Development

• Agent architecture documented
• Model selected and deployed
• Tools/plugins implemented and tested
• Error handling with retries
• Structured outputs configured
• No hardcoded secrets
• All prompts stored as separate files in prompts/ (not inline in code)
• All output templates stored in templates/ (not inline in code)

Model Change Management (MANDATORY)

• Model version pinned explicitly (e.g., gpt-5.1-2026-01-15)
• Model version configurable via environment variable
• Evaluation baseline saved for current model
• A/B evaluation run before any model switch
• Structured output schema verified after model change
• Tool/function-calling accuracy verified after model change
• Model change documented in changelog with eval results
• Weekly evaluation monitoring configured for drift detection
• Alert threshold set for score drops > 10% from baseline

Model Change Test Automation (MANDATORY)

• Agent designed as model-agnostic (model injected via config)
• config/models.yaml defines model test matrix with thresholds
• Tested against ≥2 models (primary + fallback from different provider)
• Multi-model comparison pipeline in CI/CD (weekly + on model config change)
• Deployment gated on threshold checks (CI fails on regression)
• Validated fallback model designated and documented
• Comparison report generated per run (JSON + human-readable)
• Cost and latency evaluators included alongside quality metrics

Observability

• OpenTelemetry tracing enabled
• Trace viewer tested
• Structured logging implemented
• Metrics collection configured

Evaluation

• Evaluation dataset created
• Evaluators defined (built-in + custom)
• Evaluation runs passing
• Results meet quality thresholds
• Multi-model comparison run (2+ models tested)
• Fallback model validated and documented
• Model comparison baseline saved

Security & Compliance

• Credentials in Key Vault/env vars
• Input validation implemented
• RBAC configured
• Audit logging enabled
• OWASP AI Top 10 reviewed

Operations

• Health checks implemented
• Rate limiting configured
• Monitoring alerts set up
• Deployment strategy defined
• Rollback plan documented
• Cost monitoring enabled

Resources

Official Documentation:

• Agent Framework: github.com/microsoft/agent-framework
• Microsoft Foundry: ai.azure.com
• Azure AI Projects SDK: learn.microsoft.com/python/api/overview/azure/ai-projects
• OpenTelemetry: opentelemetry.io

AI Toolkit:

• Model Catalog: Ctrl+Shift+P → AI Toolkit: Model Catalog
• Trace Viewer: Ctrl+Shift+P → AI Toolkit: Open Trace Viewer
• Playground: Ctrl+Shift+P → AI Toolkit: Model Playground

Security:

• OWASP AI Security: owasp.org/AI-Security-and-Privacy-Guide
• Azure Security Best Practices: learn.microsoft.com/azure/security

Related: AGENTS.md for agent behavior guidelines • Skills.md for general production practices

Last Updated: January 17, 2026

Scripts

Troubleshooting

References

• Tracing And Evaluation
• Multi Model Patterns
• Model Drift And Judge Patterns
• Model Change Test Automation