π± ConnectSoft Incubator Agent¶
π― Purpose¶
The ConnectSoft Incubator Agent supports exploration and optionality in the ConnectSoft AI Software Factory: raw pitches, spikes, experiments, and proactively generated candidate ideas. It applies lightweight stage-gates so weak concepts exit cheaply and promising ones can graduateβwith optional handoff to the Vision Architect Agent when the organization commits to a full software vision.
The Incubator is not the mandatory first step of every initiative. It can run standalone, on a schedule (e.g. cron), or in response to events, including while other factory work is already in progress (e.g. portfolio-level or platform-level ideation).
In short: The Incubator explores, normalizes, and gates ideasβand may surface new ideas on a cadenceβwithout replacing structured vision, BRD, roadmap, or backlog work owned by other planning agents.
π Responsibilities¶
| Responsibility | Description |
|---|---|
| Intake normalization | Turn informal pitches into a consistent Incubator Brief structure (problem sketch, users, constraints, unknowns). |
| Stage-gates | Apply go / park / kill / continue-experiment decisions with traceable rationale. |
| Idea pool maintenance | Maintain or refresh a versioned idea pool artifact (candidates, status, links to signals). |
| Proactive ideation | On scheduled or policy-mapped runs, consume configured signal feeds and propose candidate ideas (with confidence and review flags). |
| Stale exploration nudges | Flag dormant items (no activity past threshold) for human or agent follow-up. |
| Optional promotion | When criteria are met, emit IdeaPromotedToVision so the Vision Architect can produce a full Vision Document. |
| Traceability | Embed trace IDs, source mode (intake / scheduled / event), and links to inputs in all artifacts and events. |
ποΈ Position in the Entire ConnectSoft AI Software Factory Process¶
The Incubator sits in the Vision and Product Planning cluster for documentation discoverability. Activation is not strictly sequential with Vision Architect β Product Manager β Product Owner β Business Analyst.
flowchart TD
subgraph Modes["Activation (any combination)"]
Human["Human / agent pitch"]
Cron["Scheduled run"]
Ev["Mapped platform events"]
end
Human --> Incubator["ConnectSoft Incubator Agent"]
Cron --> Incubator
Ev --> Incubator
Incubator --> Brief["Incubator Brief / idea pool update"]
Brief --> Gate{"Stage-gate"}
Gate -->|park / kill / experiment| Pool["Idea pool / audit trail"]
Gate -->|promote| Promo["IdeaPromotedToVision"]
Promo --> VA["Vision Architect Agent"]
VA --> VD["Vision Document β planning cluster"]
- Upstream input: Unstructured or semi-structured pitches, signal bundles (scheduled runs), policy-mapped events.
- Downstream output (optional):
IdeaPromotedToVisionβ Vision Architect produces a Vision Document; many runs end in the idea pool without invoking Vision Architect.
π·οΈ ConnectSoft Platform Principles Alignment¶
- Domain-Driven Design: Incubator Briefs and idea-pool entries carry domain tags and trace IDs for later bounded-context alignment when promoted.
- Event-Driven Architecture: Emits
IncubatorStageGateCompleted,IncubatorCandidateIdeasPublished,IdeaPromotedToVision, and related events with versioned payloads. - Cloud-Native and Multi-Tenant: Schedules, allowlists, and artifact storage respect tenant/project isolation and quotas.
- AI-First Modularization: Skills (intake, validation, signal synthesis) compose into activation-specific pipelines.
- Governed autonomy: Cron and batch ideation are bounded by frequency caps, deduplication, and human-review policy.
π― Example Scenarios Supported¶
| Scenario | Supported? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Ad-hoc pitch from a product lead | β | On-demand intake + stage-gate |
| Weekly portfolio βidea sweepβ from telemetry themes | β | Scheduled run + candidate list |
| Post-incident theme β exploration backlog | β | Event-driven when policy maps |
| Hackathon outcome β park or promote | β | Intake with experiment metadata |
| Platform team ideation without a product line | β | Standalone mode |
| Skip Incubator entirely for a committed initiative | β | Factory allows direct Vision Architect activation |
π₯ Inputs¶
| Input type | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Raw pitch | Freeform text, optional links, lightweight attachments | βExplore a connector for X in our edition Y.β |
| Signal bundles | Structured or semi-structured inputs for scheduled runs | Aggregated backlog themes, digest exports |
| Policy context | Stage-gate rules, allowlists, promotion thresholds, cron definitions | YAML/JSON policy per tenant |
| Existing idea pool | Prior briefs and statuses | Snapshot ref for deduplication / dormancy |
π€ Outputs¶
| Output type | Description | Format / example |
|---|---|---|
| Incubator Brief | Problem sketch, users, constraints, unknowns, next experiment, gate outcome | Markdown + JSON |
| Idea pool updates | Versioned candidates with status and trace IDs | Artifact store / list |
| Gate record | Machine-readable decision + rationale (mandatory for park/kill) | JSON |
| Events | See Events emitted and consumed and Example event schemas below | Event bus JSON |
ποΈ Visual: High-Level Data Flow for Inputs and Outputs¶
flowchart TD
subgraph In["Inputs"]
Pitch[Raw pitch]
Sig[Signal bundles]
Pol[Policy / schedule]
Pool[Existing idea pool]
end
Pitch & Sig & Pol & Pool --> Incubator["ConnectSoft Incubator Agent"]
Incubator --> BriefOut["Incubator Brief"]
Incubator --> PoolUp["Idea pool updates"]
Incubator --> Bus["Event Bus"]
Bus --> VisionArch["Vision Architect (optional)"]
Bus --> Audit["Audit / observability"]
β‘ Activation modes¶
| Mode | Intent |
|---|---|
| On-demand / intake | A human or upstream agent submits a raw pitch; the Incubator normalizes and runs a stage-gate. |
| Scheduled (cron) | Periodic execution: scan configured signal feeds, generate or refresh candidate ideas, update the idea pool, flag dormancy. |
| Event-driven | React when policy maps factory or platform events (e.g. new segment, catalog update, incident theme) to Incubator processing. |
| Standalone | Portfolio- or platform-level ideation without being wired as step zero for a specific product line. |
π Triggers, scheduling, and operating modes¶
On-demand¶
- Trigger: Explicit submission (UI, API, or agent handoff) with raw text and optional attachments.
- Behavior: Run Incubator Intake & Stage-Gate Skill, then persist brief and gate outcome.
Scheduled (cron)¶
- Trigger: Time-based schedule (e.g. weekly portfolio review, nightly signal digest)βconfigured per tenant/project.
- Inputs (configurable): Aggregated telemetry summaries, backlog theme exports, market/tech digests (as approved artifacts).
- Behavior:
- Ingest only allowlisted feeds; respect rate and token budgets.
- Produce candidate idea records (title, hypothesis, signal refs, suggested next experiment, confidence).
- Apply human-review policy: e.g. auto-publish to internal βcandidatesβ lane vs draft-only until a human approves (configurable).
- Guardrails:
- Frequency caps (max runs per day/week per scope).
- Deduplication against recent idea pool entries (semantic or id-based).
- No promotion to Vision Architect from scheduled runs unless a separate explicit promotion action occurs (human or policy).
Event-driven¶
- Trigger: Events registered in orchestration policy (examples: configuration changes, template catalog updatesβexact mapping is deployment-specific).
- Behavior: Same artifact and event patterns as on-demand or scheduled, tagged with
source_event_id.
Observability for all modes¶
- Emit traces with
incubator_run_id,activation_mode,schedule_id(if any), and counts of ideas created, updated, or closed.
βοΈ Example System Prompts Used by ConnectSoft Incubator Agent¶
System prompt (summary):
You are the ConnectSoft Incubator Agent. You explore and gate ideas; you do not produce a full Vision Document. You honor activation mode and policy (cron limits, promotion rules). You always record gate rationale and emit
IdeaPromotedToVisiononly when approval policy allowsβnotVisionDocumentCreated.
The full initialization block appears under System Prompt (Initialization) below.
π§© Example Input Prompt Template¶
ConnectSoft Incubator Agent β Input Template
Activation mode: {on_demand | scheduled | event_driven | standalone}
Raw pitch or signal summary:
"{content}"
Optional context:
- Submitter / portfolio: {submitter_context}
- Constraints hint: {constraints_hint}
- Idea pool snapshot ref: {idea_pool_snapshot_ref}
- Source event id (if any): {source_event_id}
Instructions:
- Normalize into an Incubator Brief structure.
- Apply stage-gate policy; record rationale for every outcome.
- If promote-ready, prepare handoff checklist for Vision Architect (do not emit VisionDocumentCreated).
- Emit the appropriate Incubator events after validation passes.
π§Ύ Expected Output Format Example¶
# Incubator Brief
## Hypothesis (one line)
Small clinics will adopt a lightweight scheduling add-on if it integrates with their existing EHR export.
## Problem sketch
Scheduling is fragmented; staff double-book and no-show follow-up is manual.
## Provisional users / segments
- Clinic admin (primary) β flag: needs_research
- Locum physicians β assumed
## Constraints and assumptions
- Must not store PHI in incubator artifact β **validated** policy
- 8-week experiment budget β **assumed**
## Unknowns
- Integration depth with top 3 EHR vendors
- Pricing sensitivity
## Smallest next experiment (timeboxed)
- 5 interviews + 1 paper prototype β 2 weeks
## Gate outcome
continue_experiment
## Rationale
Clear pain; unknowns tractable with cheap experiment; no regulatory red flags in brief.
## Traceability
- trace_id: `inc-20250428-abc`
- activation_mode: `on_demand`
{
"artifactType": "IncubatorBrief",
"trace_id": "inc-20250428-abc",
"activation_mode": "on_demand",
"hypothesis": "Small clinics will adopt...",
"gate_outcome": "continue_experiment",
"gate_rationale": "Clear pain; unknowns tractable...",
"promote_ready": false,
"metadata": {
"session_timestamp": "2025-04-28T10:00:00Z",
"confidence_score": 0.78
}
}
π Knowledge Base¶
| Knowledge area | Description |
|---|---|
| Innovation and experiment patterns | Hypothesis framing, cheap tests, kill/park criteria |
| ConnectSoft factory ontology | How Incubator Briefs relate to Vision Documents and planning agents |
| Signal taxonomy | Allowed signal bundle types for scheduled runs (per deployment) |
| Historical idea pool | Semantic retrieval to avoid duplicates and revive related threads |
| Policy packs | Stage-gate rules, promotion thresholds, cron caps per tenant |
π οΈ Technologies¶
| Technology | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Semantic Kernel (.NET) | Agent orchestration, skills, plugins |
| OpenAI / Azure OpenAI Service | Language reasoning and synthesis |
| Vector database (optional) | Similarity search over past briefs and candidates |
| Azure Storage / artifact store | Versioned Incubator Briefs and idea pool |
| Azure Event Grid / Kafka | Emit Incubator and handoff events |
| Scheduler / orchestration | Cron and event-triggered runs with quotas |
| OpenTelemetry, Serilog | Traces, logs, metrics |
ποΈ Visual: Technology Stack for ConnectSoft Incubator Agent¶
flowchart TD
SK[Semantic Kernel] --> LLM[LLM Service]
SK --> Store[Artifact / idea pool storage]
SK --> Vec[(Vector DB optional)]
SK --> Bus[Event Bus]
Sched[Scheduler / orchestration] --> SK
SK --> OTel[OpenTelemetry / logging]
Bus --> VA[Vision Architect Agent]
π Example Technology Callouts¶
Info
Semantic Kernel chains skills such as Incubator Intake & Stage-Gate, Structure Validator, and Signal Synthesis (scheduled mode).
Warning
Scheduled runs must enforce allowlists and token budgets per tenant to prevent unbounded cost and noise.
Tip
Vector memory improves deduplication and βrelated ideaβ surfacing before publishing IncubatorCandidateIdeasPublished.
π Internal Process Flow¶
| Step | Description |
|---|---|
| 1. Activation | Resolve mode: on-demand, scheduled, event-driven, or standalone. |
| 2. Context load | Load policy, idea pool snapshot, allowlisted signals (if any). |
| 3. Normalize / synthesize | Intake skill and/or signal synthesis for batch candidates. |
| 4. Deduplication | Compare against recent pool entries; flag duplicates. |
| 5. Stage-gate | Apply policy; record mandatory rationale. |
| 6. Assemble artifacts | Incubator Brief, gate record, pool updates. |
| 7. Self-validation | Run validation skill chain (structure, rationale, policy). |
| 8. Emit events | IncubatorStageGateCompleted, batch events, optional IdeaPromotedToVision. |
| 9. Observability | Trace, log, metrics for the run. |
| 10. Human checkpoint (optional) | Review queue for low confidence, sensitive domain, or cron draft policy. |
π§© Modular Skills Invoked in Process¶
| Skill | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Incubator Intake & Stage-Gate Skill | Normalize pitch β brief + gate (detailed below) |
| Signal synthesis skill | Combine allowlisted feeds β ranked candidate ideas (scheduled) |
| Dormancy scan skill | Detect stale pool items; suggest nudge or closure |
| Structure / rationale validator | Ensure mandatory fields and rationale for gate outcomes |
| Promotion readiness checker | Verify handoff checklist before IdeaPromotedToVision |
Incubator Intake & Stage-Gate Skill (exemplar)¶
Objective: Transform a submitted pitch into a validated Incubator Brief and a recorded gate decision.
Inputs:
| Field | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
raw_pitch |
Yes | Unstructured description of the idea or problem |
submitter_context |
No | Role, team, or portfolio tag |
constraints_hint |
No | Compliance, budget, or timeline hints |
idea_pool_snapshot_ref |
No | Reference for deduplication |
Procedure (checklist):
- Normalize β One-line hypothesis and problem sketch.
- Users & value β Provisional segments; flag
needs_researchwhere needed. - Constraints β List constraints and assumptions; mark validated vs assumed.
- Unknowns β Top unknowns + smallest next experiment (timeboxed).
- Deduplication β If duplicate suspected, emit
IncubatorDuplicateSuspectedper policy. - Gate β continue experiment / park / kill / promote-ready with rationale.
- Assemble β Markdown + JSON with
trace_id,activation_mode, timestamps. - Validate β Self-check rationale and promotion rules.
- Emit β
IncubatorStageGateCompleted;IdeaPromotedToVisiononly after approval policy.
Anti-patterns:
| Anti-pattern | Why it fails |
|---|---|
| Skipping rationale on kill/park | Breaks audit loops |
Emitting VisionDocumentCreated from Incubator |
Vision scope is Vision Architect only |
| Unbounded cron fan-out | Noise and cost |
| Treating Incubator Brief as Vision Document | Wrong contract for downstream planning agents |
ποΈ Visual: ConnectSoft Incubator Agent Internal Process Flow¶
flowchart TD
A[Activation] --> B[Context load]
B --> C{Mode?}
C -->|on_demand| D[Intake & Stage-Gate Skill]
C -->|scheduled| E[Signal synthesis + gate]
C -->|event| F[Tagged run same as D/E]
D --> G[Assemble artifacts]
E --> G
F --> G
G --> H[Self-validation]
H -->|Pass| I[Emit events]
H -->|Fail| J[Retry / correction]
J --> H
I --> K[Observability]
H -->|Escalate| L[Human review]
π οΈ Key Principles in Process Flow¶
| Principle | How applied |
|---|---|
| Modularity | Skills swap per activation mode without changing core contracts |
| Recoverability | Retries for validation; explicit escalation to humans |
| Observability-first | Every run has incubator_run_id and mode tags |
| Policy-bound autonomy | Cron and auto-ideas never bypass configured caps and review rules |
π£ Special Callouts¶
Tip
Short-term memory holds the in-progress brief and candidate batch during a single run.
Warning
Promotion to Vision Architect must never bypass approval policy or handoff checklist completeness.
Info
Draft-only cron output is the default recommendation for high-risk or regulated portfolios.
π οΈ System Prompt (Initialization)¶
ConnectSoft System Prompt: ConnectSoft Incubator Agent
You are the **ConnectSoft Incubator Agent** in the **ConnectSoft AI Software Factory**.
Your mission is to **explore, normalize, and stage-gate** ideasβoptionally **propose candidate ideas** from allowlisted signals on a scheduleβwithout producing a **Vision Document**.
You must:
- Operate according to **activation_mode** and **policy** (cron frequency, token budgets, deduplication, human review).
- Produce **Incubator Briefs** and **gate records** with **mandatory rationale** for park, kill, and promote-ready outcomes.
- Emit **`IdeaPromotedToVision`** only when promotion policy is satisfied; never emit **`VisionDocumentCreated`**.
- Flag **duplicates**, **low confidence**, and **sensitive domains** per configuration.
- Log and trace all steps for observability.
You must not:
- Replace the **Vision Architect**, **Product Manager**, **Product Owner**, or **Business Analyst** roles.
- Bypass **allowlists** on scheduled runs or exceed **quota**.
Your outputs must be machine-consumable and aligned with ConnectSoft factory event and artifact standards.
π§ Memory Management¶
| Memory type | Purpose | Storage mechanism |
|---|---|---|
| Short-term | In-progress brief, batch of candidates, conversation for clarification | Session / context window |
| Long-term | Completed briefs, embeddings for deduplication and βrelated ideasβ | Artifact store + optional vector index |
Short-term memory behavior¶
- Retains the working brief and validation state between skill calls within one run.
- Supports multi-turn clarification for ambiguous pitches.
Long-term memory behavior¶
- Persists finalized briefs and candidate records with trace_id and activation_mode.
- Enables similarity search before
IncubatorCandidateIdeasPublished.
flowchart TD
In["Inputs / signals"] --> STM["Short-term memory"]
STM --> Skills["Skill execution"]
Skills --> Draft["Brief / candidates"]
Draft -->|Persist| LTM["Long-term / idea pool"]
Draft -->|Emit| Bus["Event bus"]
π£ Key Constraints¶
Info
Flush or partition short-term context after each incubator_run_id to avoid cross-run leakage.
Warning
Long-term embeddings and artifacts must respect multi-tenant isolation and data classification (e.g. no PHI in incubator artifacts when policy forbids it).
Tip
Use trace_id as the primary correlation key across logs, events, and storage paths.
β Validation Logic¶
| Validation step | Description |
|---|---|
| Structural | Mandatory sections present for the active mode (brief fields or batch record shape). |
| Rationale present | Every park/kill/promote-ready has non-empty rationale. |
| Policy compliance | Cron within caps; allowlists respected; promotion rules satisfied. |
| Handoff checklist | For promote-ready, Vision Architect prerequisites listed (problem, users, success signal). |
| Format | Markdown and JSON parseable; metadata complete (trace_id, activation_mode, timestamps). |
| Confidence handling | Below threshold triggers review or draft-only per policyβnot silent publish. |
π§© Self-Validation Skill Chain¶
1. Structure Validator β
2. Rationale & policy Validator β
3. Deduplication check (if configured) β
4. Promotion rules Validator β
5. Final sanity check
Each step passes, fails with hints for auto-correction, or escalates.
π Retry/Correction Flow¶
flowchart TD
Gen[Generate brief / batch] --> Val[Validate]
Val -->|Pass| Emit[Emit events]
Val -->|Fail| Fix[Auto-correction]
Fix --> Val2[Re-validate]
Val2 -->|Pass| Emit
Val2 -->|Fail| Human{Retries exhausted?}
Human -->|Yes| Esc[Human intervention]
Human -->|No| Fix
| Step | Action |
|---|---|
| Initial validation | After assembly, before emit. |
| Auto-correction | Minor fixes (missing field, JSON lint). |
| Re-validation | Repeat until pass or max retries. |
| Escalation | Human review for repeated failure or sensitive outcomes. |
π¦ Retry Policies¶
| Scenario | Auto-correct? | Max retries | Human intervention? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Missing mandatory brief section | β | 2 | β if still failing |
| Missing gate rationale | β | 1 | β |
| Broken JSON | β (lint) | 2 | β |
| Policy violation (e.g. over cap) | π« | 0 | β |
| Low confidence | π« | 0 | β per review policy |
π£ Special Handling¶
Info
Ambiguity in a pitch may yield a clarification request to humans instead of a weak gate decision.
Warning
Do not emit IdeaPromotedToVision if the handoff checklist is incomplete or human approval is required but not recorded.
Tip
Log every retry and escalation for audit and tuning of autonomy.
π Correction Example (Auto-Fix)¶
Problem: Gate outcome is park but rationale field is empty.
Auto-fix: Infer short rationale from problem sketch and unknowns; if still empty, fail validation and retry once with expanded template.
ποΈ Diagram: Validation and Correction Lifecycle¶
flowchart TD
O[Generated output] --> S[Structural validation]
S --> R[Rationale / policy]
R --> P[Promotion rules]
P -->|All pass| F[Finalize & emit]
P -->|Fail| C[Correction]
C --> S
π Agent Communication Overview¶
The ConnectSoft Incubator Agent collaborates via event-driven emission, shared artifact storage, and orchestration policy. It is not a drop-in replacement for Vision Architect or product planning agents.
π‘ Direct Collaboration Targets¶
| Target | Purpose | Interaction mode |
|---|---|---|
| Vision Architect Agent | Consume promotion handoff to build Vision Document | Event IdeaPromotedToVision + artifact URI |
| Orchestration layer | Schedules, policies, quotas | Config + control plane |
| Humans | Gate approval, promotion approval, cron draft review | Portal / notifications |
| Product Manager / PO / BA | Typically after Vision Document; optional exceptions by process | Out of band / explicit workflow |
| Knowledge Management Agent (optional) | Archive briefs for search | Artifact + embedding |
π§© Collaboration Interfaces Design¶
| Type | Mechanism | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Event emission | Versioned JSON payloads on event bus | Idempotent consumers |
| Shared artifact storage | Incubator Brief + idea pool records | URIs in event payloads |
| Scheduler | Cron / event triggers | Tenant-scoped |
| Optional vector index | Embeddings for deduplication | Isolated per tenant |
π Example: IncubatorStageGateCompleted Event Schema¶
{
"eventType": "IncubatorStageGateCompleted",
"eventTime": "2025-04-28T10:05:00Z",
"data": {
"trace_id": "inc-20250428-abc",
"activation_mode": "on_demand",
"gate_outcome": "continue_experiment",
"brief_uri": "https://storage.example/inc/inc-20250428-abc.md",
"confidence_score": 0.78
},
"metadataVersion": "1.0"
}
π Example: IdeaPromotedToVision Event Schema¶
{
"eventType": "IdeaPromotedToVision",
"eventTime": "2025-04-28T10:10:00Z",
"data": {
"trace_id": "inc-20250428-abc",
"incubator_brief_uri": "https://storage.example/inc/inc-20250428-abc.md",
"handoff_checklist_complete": true,
"approved_by": "policy:auto|human:user-123"
},
"metadataVersion": "1.0"
}
π οΈ Example Collaboration Flow¶
sequenceDiagram
participant Incubator as ConnectSoft Incubator Agent
participant Bus as Event Bus
participant VA as Vision Architect Agent
participant Human as Human reviewer
Incubator->>Bus: IncubatorStageGateCompleted
alt promote-ready + approved
Incubator->>Bus: IdeaPromotedToVision
Bus-->>VA: Handoff for Vision Document
else draft or review required
Incubator->>Human: Review queue
end
π£ Best Practices for Collaboration¶
Tip
Always attach trace_id, project_id, and activation_mode to events and artifacts.
Warning
Vision Architect must not receive promotion events for incomplete handoff checklists.
Info
Consumers of Incubator events should be idempotent (at-least-once delivery).
π Collaboration Responsibilities by Interface¶
| Interface | Incubator responsibility |
|---|---|
| Event bus | Emit only after validation; correct ordering for gate then promotion |
| Artifact store | Version briefs and pool updates; enforce retention policy |
| Scheduler | Respect caps; tag runs with schedule_id |
| Human review | Surface low-confidence and draft cron batches per policy |
π£ Events emitted and consumed¶
Emitted (examples)¶
| Event | When |
|---|---|
ExplorationStarted |
New intake or scheduled run started |
IncubatorStageGateCompleted |
Brief + gate outcome persisted |
IdeaPromotedToVision |
Handoff approved |
IdeaParkedOrClosed |
Park or kill with rationale |
IncubatorScheduledRunStarted |
Cron/batch run began |
IncubatorCandidateIdeasPublished |
Batch candidates written (may be draft-only) |
IncubatorDuplicateSuspected |
Duplicate detection |
Consumed (examples)¶
| Event | Use |
|---|---|
| Policy-mapped platform or factory events | Trigger scoped Incubator runs when configured |
π Observability Hooks¶
| Type | Description | Tooling |
|---|---|---|
| Structured logging | Run start/end, mode, gate outcomes, emits | Serilog (JSON) |
| Distributed tracing | Full path across skills and validation | OpenTelemetry |
| Metrics | Counters, histograms for runs, promotions, failures | Prometheus-compatible |
| Audit | Event emission log correlated with trace_id |
Internal audit store |
π Key Logs Captured¶
| Log entry | Example fields |
|---|---|
| Run start | incubator_run_id, activation_mode, schedule_id |
| Brief generated | trace_id, gate_outcome, confidence_score |
| Validation | validation_status, errors |
| Retry | retry_number, reason |
| Event emitted | event_type, payload_summary |
| Human escalation | reason, missing_fields |
π Key Metrics Exposed¶
| Metric | Description |
|---|---|
incubator_runs_total |
Runs by activation_mode |
incubator_stage_gate_total |
By gate_outcome |
incubator_promotions_total |
IdeaPromotedToVision count |
incubator_validation_failures_total |
Validation failures |
incubator_retry_attempts_total |
Retries |
incubator_human_interventions_total |
Escalations |
incubator_run_duration_seconds |
Latency histogram |
incubator_scheduled_run_cost_tokens |
Optional token burn for cron |
Agent health (interpretation):
| Metric | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Time to first brief | On-demand latency |
| Promotion rate | Tune noise vs value |
| Scheduled run cost | SLO for cron jobs |
| Duplicate rate | Deduplication quality |
ποΈ Visual: Observability Integration Flow¶
flowchart TD
Start[Run start] --> L1[Log / trace]
Skills[Skills] --> L2[Log / span]
Val[Validation] --> L3[Log / metrics]
Emit[Event emit] --> L4[Audit log]
L1 & L2 & L3 & L4 --> Stack[Observability stack]
π€ Human Intervention Points¶
| Situation | Intervention |
|---|---|
| Validation fails after retries | Human completes or rejects brief |
| Low confidence | Review before publish or promotion |
| Cron draft-only policy | Human approves candidate batch |
| Sensitive domain | Mandatory approval before promotion |
| Ambiguous pitch | Clarification session |
π§© How Human Intervention Works¶
flowchart TD
Out[Output ready] --> V[Validation]
V -->|OK| E[Emit events]
V -->|Review required| N[Notify human]
N --> P[Review portal]
P -->|Approve| E
P -->|Edit| V
P -->|Reject| X[Close / park with rationale]
Mechanisms: notifications, review portal, approve / edit / reject with logged reasons.
π£ Best Practices¶
Tip
Log reviewer id, action, and rationale for every human intervention.
Warning
Configure default autonomy per portfolio: autonomous vs review-heavy.
Info
Intervention metrics inform policy tuning and prompt improvements.
ποΈ Full Agent Blueprint Overview¶
The ConnectSoft Incubator Agent is a Vision and Product Planning cluster agent focused on exploration, optional promotion, and scheduled ideation. It does not own the Vision Document lifecycle.
π Complete Logical Responsibilities Map¶
flowchart TD
A1[Inputs: pitch / signals / policy] --> A2[ConnectSoft Incubator Agent]
A2 --> B1[Intake & Stage-Gate Skill]
A2 --> B2[Signal synthesis]
A2 --> B3[Dormancy scan]
B1 & B2 & B3 --> C1[Assemble brief / pool]
C1 --> D1[Validation chain]
D1 -->|Pass| E1[Emit Incubator events]
D1 -->|Fail| F1[Retry / human]
E1 -->|optional| G1[IdeaPromotedToVision]
G1 --> H1[Vision Architect Agent]
π Technical Stack Blueprint¶
flowchart TD
SK[Semantic Kernel] --> LLM[LLM]
SK --> Mem[Short-term context]
SK --> Art[Artifact store]
SK --> Vec[(Vector optional)]
SK --> Bus[Event bus]
Sch[Scheduler] --> SK
SK --> OT[OpenTelemetry]
π§© Component and Subsystem Diagram¶
flowchart LR
subgraph ConnectSoft Incubator Agent
In[Input] --> Pre[Preprocess / policy]
Pre --> Chain[Skill chain]
Chain --> Val[Validation]
Val -->|Pass| Out[Event + artifact]
Val -->|Fail| Retry[Retry / human]
end
Out --> Bus[Event bus]
Out --> Store[Storage]
π‘οΈ Responsibility Layer Mapping¶
| Layer | Responsibilities |
|---|---|
| Activation | Resolve mode, load policy and snapshots |
| Skill execution | Intake, synthesis, dormancy |
| Validation & correction | Structure, rationale, promotion rules |
| Artifact & pool | Version briefs and candidates |
| Events | Emit validated payloads only |
| Observability | Logs, traces, metrics |
| Human hooks | Review queues and escalations |
π§ Key Highlights¶
β
Multi-modal: On-demand, cron, event-driven, standalone.
β
Optional handoff to Vision Architect via IdeaPromotedToVision only.
β
Exemplar skill documented for factory-wide skill patterns.
β
Policy-bound scheduled ideation with deduplication and review.
β
Observability-first runs with clear correlation IDs.
π§© ConnectSoft Incubator Agent in the Entire Factory Flow (Macro View)¶
flowchart TD
subgraph Optional["Optional exploration"]
Inc[ConnectSoft Incubator Agent] -.->|IdeaPromotedToVision| VA[Vision Architect Agent]
end
VA --> PM[Product Manager Agent]
VA --> BA[Business Analyst Agent]
Inc --> Pool[Idea pool / parked]
π Conclusion for ConnectSoft Incubator Agent Spec¶
The ConnectSoft Incubator Agent provides a governed exploration lane and proactive ideation capability inside the ConnectSoft AI Software Factory. It keeps optionality and cost control at the front of innovation while preserving the Vision Architect as the authority for full vision artifacts.
Without lightweight exploration, teams over-invest in formal vision too early; the Incubator balances speed, auditability, and optional promotion.
π Future Extensions¶
- Deeper integration with experiment result ingestion (auto-update gate from outcomes).
- Portfolio scoring models for candidate ranking on cron runs.
- Cross-tenant pattern libraries (anonymized) for similarity search.
- Formal SLA templates per industry for human review timing.
π Related specifications¶
- Vision Architect Agent β Full Vision Document owner.
- Vision and Product Planning Agents Overview β Cluster context and flows.