MAS Decision Gate

A multi-agent system is needed when your task requires parallelization, domain specialization, or internal verification that justifies the architectural complexity over a single agent. Apply the Simplicity Test to verify MAS is warranted.

Decide on multi-agent architecture by applying an evidence-based decision framework with specific thresholds to evaluate if parallelization or domain specialization provides enough value to justify MAS usage over simpler designs.

The Simplicity Test is a decision framework criterion used to evaluate whether a given task should be solved by a single agent or a multi-agent system, preventing architectural overkill by requiring evidence-based justification for MAS.

Yes, a single agent can handle specialized tasks, but if internal verification or parallelization thresholds are met, a multi-agent system is formally recommended to properly separate roles and domain responsibilities.

The primary limitation of multi-agent systems is architectural overkill. You should not use MAS if the task lacks sufficient parallelization, domain specialization, or internal verification needs to pass the Simplicity Test thresholds.

Evaluate task parallelization by applying the decision framework thresholds to determine if the task's domain specialization and verification requirements justify multi-agent system deployment over a single agent architecture.