Agentic AI Reference Architecture

Cognition · Data artifact

Execution Plan

Data artifactCognitionCognition & MemoryVariation point (abstract)arc:ExecutionPlan

An explicit, ordered or dependency-graph representation of the steps an agent will execute to achieve a goal.

Responsibility. Specifies the steps and dependencies of a task.

Also known as: Plan, Task DAG, Primitive task network, Executable plan, Active plan, Action sequence, Route plan, Planned route with waypoints and target times

is written by; is produced byis written byis read byis written byis produced byis read byis read byis read byis written byis written byis produced byis read byis specialized byis read byTask Planner: is written by; is produced byTask PlannerReplanner: is written byReplannerPlan Executor: is read byPlan ExecutorUtility-Based Decision Maker: is written byUtility-Based Decision M…Graph Search Planner: is produced byGraph Search PlannerLearned-Policy Decision Engine: is read byLearned-Policy Decision …Plan Deviation Monitor: is read byPlan Deviation MonitorReplanning Strategy Router: is read byReplanning Strategy RouterLLM Task Planner: is written byLLM Task PlannerReplanning Layer Arbiter: is written byReplanning Layer ArbiterPlan Template Adapter: is produced byPlan Template AdapterPlan Template Extractor: is read byPlan Template ExtractorConditional Execution Plan: is specialized byConditional Execution PlanPlan Validator: is read byPlan Validator
Direct neighbourhood (hover for relationship types)

Variants

VariantWhen to choose
Conditional Execution Plan—

Relationships

is read by dependency

is written by dependency

is produced by lifecycle

Design guidance

Classification

Patterns
Directed acyclic graph (DAG) plan
Quality attributes
Reliability (ISO/IEC 25010 | NIST AI RMF: valid and reliable)Maintainability (ISO/IEC 25010)

Sources

  1. Ch1.2: T. Nguyen, "Core Agent Patterns," in Mastering Agentic AI Systems: Guide for the NVIDIA NCP-AAI Exam, 1st ed. 2026, ch. 1.2. ISBN: 9798244538229.
  2. Ch4.7: T. Nguyen, "Scaling Strategies," in Mastering Agentic AI Systems: Guide for the NVIDIA NCP-AAI Exam, 1st ed. 2026, ch. 4.7. ISBN: 9798244538229.
  3. Ch5.1: T. Nguyen, "Chain-of-Thought (CoT) Fundamentals," in Mastering Agentic AI Systems: Guide for the NVIDIA NCP-AAI Exam, 1st ed. 2026, ch. 5.1. ISBN: 9798244538229.
  4. Ch5.4: T. Nguyen, "Hierarchical Planning Fundamentals," in Mastering Agentic AI Systems: Guide for the NVIDIA NCP-AAI Exam, 1st ed. 2026, ch. 5.4. ISBN: 9798244538229.
  5. Ch5.6: T. Nguyen, "A* Search and Replaning," in Mastering Agentic AI Systems: Guide for the NVIDIA NCP-AAI Exam, 1st ed. 2026, ch. 5.6. ISBN: 9798244538229.
  6. Ch5.13: T. Nguyen, "Hybrid Decision Systems Fundamentals," in Mastering Agentic AI Systems: Guide for the NVIDIA NCP-AAI Exam, 1st ed. 2026, ch. 5.13. ISBN: 9798244538229.
  7. Ch8.2A: T. Nguyen, "Error Rates and Reliability," in Mastering Agentic AI Systems: Guide for the NVIDIA NCP-AAI Exam, 1st ed. 2026, ch. 8.2A. ISBN: 9798244538229.