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Failure Mode Watchlist

Table of Contents

What it does

Public catalog of drift patterns that cause multi-agent coordination to silently degrade. Each failure mode is named, described, sourced from real incidents, and linked to structural interventions.

Architecture / Key capabilities

  • Named failure modes — Each pattern gets a distinct name, making it referenceable in code reviews, agent instructions, and interagent memos
  • Sourced from practice — Every entry traces back to observed behavior in a real multi-agent workflow, not hypothetical scenarios
  • Structural interventions — Each failure mode links to one or more design-level responses (protocol changes, memory hygiene rules, escalation triggers) rather than ad-hoc fixes
  • Public artifact — Published externally so other practitioners building multi-agent systems can reference and contribute to the catalog
  • First-class research subject — Treats coordination failure as a domain worth systematic study, not just anecdotal frustration to be worked around

Key numbers

  • 22 failure modes cataloged (v0.2.6)
  • Maintained as part of the Interagent project
  • Broadcast processed across all agent entities

Current phase

v0.2.6 — active catalog growing alongside Interagent Protocol development. Companion piece (fractal property deep-dive) planned.

Status

Active — integrated into ia review workflow. FM watchlist broadcasts processed by all coordinated entities.

MISSING — Repository URL