Cognition · Software component
Plan Validator
Software componentCognitionCognition & Memoryarc:PlanValidator
A pre-execution validator that checks whether an agent's proposed plan—tool choices, step ordering and parameters—satisfies the task requirements and declared dependency rules before any tool runs.
Responsibility. Rejects plans that violate task requirements or tool dependency rules before execution begins.
Also known as: Plan output validation
Relationships
Design guidance
- SHOULD validate proposed plans before execution, because planning failures produce no API error, timeout or exception.
- SHOULD encode dependency rules as explicit constraints (e.g., a refund requires order status pending) rather than relying on prompts alone.
Classification
- Patterns
- Validate-before-execute
- Quality attributes
- Functional suitability: correctness and validity (ISO/IEC 25010 | NIST AI RMF: valid)Reliability (ISO/IEC 25010 | NIST AI RMF: valid and reliable)
- Risks mitigated
- Planning failures: wrong tool selectionPlanning failures: invalid step ordering
Sources
- 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.