How to Evaluate Multi-Agent Handoffs
Test routing, context transfer, ownership, duplicated work, and end-to-end outcome across collaborating agents.
Short answer
Treat each handoff as a typed contract: why control moved, what work is complete, what evidence and constraints transfer, who owns the next action, and when control returns. Evaluate handoff correctness and the final task outcome together.
Key takeaways
- A handoff needs explicit ownership and completion state.
- Transfer minimal sufficient context with stable evidence references.
- Detect duplicated and abandoned work across agent boundaries.
Signs this is the problem
Start by confirming the symptom before changing prompts, models, or infrastructure.
- Two agents repeat the same research or mutation.
- A receiving agent lacks a constraint the sender knew.
- The task stalls because no agent owns the next action or return path.
Step-by-step approach
- 1
Define routing rules
Specify which agent owns each capability, when delegation is allowed, and when direct execution is required.
- 2
Design the handoff contract
Include objective, completed work, evidence IDs, unresolved risks, permissions, next action, and expected return.
- 3
Test boundary cases
Exercise unavailable agents, partial results, contradictory evidence, repeated handoffs, and rejected work.
- 4
Verify end to end
Measure final-state success plus duplication, context loss, cost, latency, and policy across the full graph.
What to measure
| Metric | What it measures | How to use it |
|---|---|---|
| Routing accuracy | Handoffs sent to an eligible agent for a task that needed delegation. | Penalize unnecessary delegation as well as wrong routing. |
| Context sufficiency | Receiving agents that obtain all required evidence and constraints. | Track missing critical fields separately from extra context. |
| End-to-end completion | Tasks independently verified after all handoffs. | Do not sum local agent claims as global success. |
Common mistakes
- Using free-form summaries with no stable evidence IDs.
- Adding agents when the work is not independently parallelizable.
- Scoring each agent locally while ignoring the combined outcome.
Practical checklist
- Define routing rules: Specify which agent owns each capability, when delegation is allowed, and when direct execution is required.
- Design the handoff contract: Include objective, completed work, evidence IDs, unresolved risks, permissions, next action, and expected return.
- Test boundary cases: Exercise unavailable agents, partial results, contradictory evidence, repeated handoffs, and rejected work.
- Verify end to end: Measure final-state success plus duplication, context loss, cost, latency, and policy across the full graph.
Frequently asked questions
What should I do first?
Specify which agent owns each capability, when delegation is allowed, and when direct execution is required
How should the result be measured?
Handoffs sent to an eligible agent for a task that needed delegation. Penalize unnecessary delegation as well as wrong routing.
When is the change ready to ship?
Ship only after the protected cases pass, the primary metric clears its agreed boundary, and the team reviews the remaining failure modes instead of relying on one aggregate score.