FIT4044 · Specification-driven agentic software lifecycle

Overview

Advanced Software Engineering: Specification-Driven Agentic Software Lifecycle examines advanced approaches to engineering agentic software systems through the use of formal and executable specifications across the software lifecycle. The unit focuses on how specifications can be used to define, govern, validate, and evolve intelligent and multi-agent systems operating in dynamic environments. Students will explore different forms of specifications, including capability, behavioural, interface, safety, governance, and evaluation specifications, and investigate how these artefacts support reliable, maintainable, and trustworthy software engineering practices. The unit introduces specification-driven design and development methodologies for agentic and AI-enabled systems, emphasising the role of executable specifications, contract testing, and automated validation in ensuring consistent system behaviour and safe interactions between agents, tools, APIs, and external services. Students will design workflows that integrate specifications into development, testing, deployment, and assurance activities, enabling specifications to function as both design artefacts and enforceable operational constraints. Through practical and project-based activities, students will develop formal specifications for agents, interfaces, and orchestration mechanisms, while applying contract-based validation and specification-driven testing approaches to complex software ecosystems. The unit also explores the engineering of safety mechanisms, guardrails, governance controls, and compliance requirements as enforceable system specifications to support accountability, reliability, and responsible deployment of agentic systems.

Offerings

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Assessment

The Handbook publishes no assessment items for this unit yet.

Assessment details may change. Please refer to the assessment information in Moodle closer to the start of the teaching period.

Requisites

Learning outcomes

1. Explain the role and types of specifications in agentic systems, including capability, behaviour, interface, safety, and evaluation specifications;
2. Develop formal specifications for agents, tools, and interfaces that clearly define system capabilities, interactions, and constraints;
3. Apply specification-driven design principles to the development of multi-agent systems;
4. Design and implement specification-driven development workflows, including writing executable scenarios that function as both specifications and tests;
5. Apply contract testing principles to validate interactions and dependencies between agents;
6. Analyse and define safety, guardrails, and governance mechanisms as enforceable system specifications.

Workload

No workload detail published.

Student experience, not official rules. Nothing here changes what the Handbook says.