observing-agentforce

Agentforce Observability

Improve Agentforce agents using session trace data and live preview testing.

Three-phase workflow:

• Observe -- Query STDM sessions from Data Cloud (if available), OR run test suites + preview with local traces as fallback
• Reproduce -- Use sf agent preview to simulate problematic conversations live
• Improve -- Edit the .agent file directly, validate, publish, verify

Platform Notes

• Shell examples below use bash syntax. On Windows, use PowerShell equivalents or Git Bash.
• Replace python3 with python on Windows.
• Replace /tmp/ with $env:TEMP\ (PowerShell) or %TEMP%\ (cmd).
• Replace jq with python -c "import json,sys; ..." if jq is not installed.

Routing

Gather these inputs before starting:

• Org alias (required)
• Agent API name (required for preview and deploy; ask if not provided)
• Agent file path (optional) -- path to the .agent file, typically force-app/main/default/aiAuthoringBundles/<AgentName>/<AgentName>.agent. Auto-detect if not provided.
• Session IDs (optional) -- analyze specific sessions; if absent, query last 7 days
• Days to look back (optional, default 7)

Determine intent from user input:

• No specific action -> run all three phases: Observe -> surface issues -> ask if user wants to Reproduce and/or Improve
• "analyze" / "sessions" / "what's wrong" -> Phase 1 only, then suggest next steps
• "reproduce" / "test" / "preview" -> Phase 2 (run Phase 1 first if no issues in hand)
• "fix" / "improve" / "update" -> Phase 3 (run Phase 1 first if no issues in hand)

Resolve agent name

Before any STDM query, resolve the user-provided agent name against the org to get the exact MasterLabel and DeveloperName:

sf data query --json \
  --query "SELECT Id, MasterLabel, DeveloperName FROM GenAiPlannerDefinition WHERE MasterLabel LIKE '%<user-provided-name>%' OR DeveloperName LIKE '%<user-provided-name>%'" \
  -o <org>

• MasterLabel = display name used by STDM findSessions and Agent Builder UI (e.g. "Order Service")
• DeveloperName = API name with version suffix used in metadata (e.g. "OrderService_v9")
• The --api-name flag for sf agent preview/activate/publish uses DeveloperName without the _vN suffix (e.g. "OrderService")

Store these values:

• AGENT_MASTER_LABEL -- for findSessions() agent filter
• AGENT_API_NAME -- DeveloperName without _vN suffix, for sf agent CLI commands
• PLANNER_ID -- the Salesforce record ID for this agent

Locate the .agent file

Step 1 -- Search locally:

find <project-root>

If the user provided an agent file path, use that directly. Otherwise, search for files matching AGENT_API_NAME.

Step 2 -- If not found locally, retrieve from the org:

Known bug: sf project retrieve start creates a double-nested path: force-app/main/default/main/default/aiAuthoringBundles/.... Fix it immediately after retrieve:

Step 3 -- Validate the retrieved file:

Read the .agent file and verify it has proper Agent Script structure:

• system: block with instructions:
• config: block with developer_name:
• start_agent or subagent blocks with reasoning: instructions:
• Each subagent should have distinct instructions: content (not identical across subagents)

Store the resolved path as AGENT_FILE for Phase 3.

Phase 0: Discover Data Space

Before running any STDM query, determine the correct Data Cloud Data Space API name.

Note: sf api request rest is a beta command -- do not add --json (that flag is unsupported and causes an error).

The response shape is:

The name field is the API name to pass to AgentforceOptimizeService.

Decision logic:

• If the command fails (e.g. 404 or permission error), fall back to 'default' and note it as an assumption.
• Filter to only status: "Active" entries.
• If exactly one active Data Space exists, use it automatically and confirm to the user: "Using Data Space: <name>".
• If multiple active Data Spaces exist, show the list (label + name) and ask the user which to use.

Store the selected name value as DATA_SPACE for all subsequent steps.

Prerequisite check: STDM DMOs

After deploying the helper class (step 1.0), run a quick probe to verify the STDM Data Model Objects exist in Data Cloud:

If STDM_CHECK:FAIL: STDM is not activated. Inform the user and switch to Phase 1-ALT:

STDM (Session Trace Data Model) is not available in this org. To enable: Setup -> Data Cloud -> Data Streams and verify "Agentforce Activity" is active. Proceeding with fallback: test suites + local traces.

If STDM_CHECK:OK, proceed to Phase 1 (STDM path).

Phase 1-ALT: Observe Without STDM (Fallback Path)

When STDM is not available, use test suites and sf agent preview --authoring-bundle with local trace analysis.

1-ALT.1 Run existing test suite (if available)

1-ALT.2 Derive test utterances from .agent file (if no test suite)

If no test suite exists, derive utterances: one per non-entry subagent (from description: keywords), one per key action, one guardrail test, one multi-turn test.

1-ALT.3 Preview with --authoring-bundle (local traces)

Run each test utterance through preview to generate local trace files:

Trace file location: .sfdx/agents/{BundleName}/sessions/{sessionId}/traces/{planId}.json

1-ALT.4 Local trace diagnosis

DefaultTopic trace quirk: With --authoring-bundle, the root .topic field often shows "DefaultTopic" even when routing works. Always use NodeEntryStateStep.data.agent_name for the real subagent chain.

Entry answering directly (SMALL_TALK pattern): If start_agent trace shows SMALL_TALK grounding and transition tools visible but none invoked, add "You are a router only. Do NOT answer questions directly." to start_agent instructions.

1-ALT.5 Classify and present

Classify issues using the categories in references/issue-classification.md. After presenting findings, automatically proceed to agent config evidence analysis.

Phase 1: Observe -- Query STDM

Full STDM query details, Apex service deployment, and response parsing: see references/stdm-queries.md

1.0 Deploy helper class (once per org)

Deploy AgentforceOptimizeService Apex class to the org. Check if already deployed first:

If not deployed, copy from skill directory and deploy. See references/stdm-queries.md for full steps.

1.1 Find sessions

Query recent sessions using findSessions(). Parse DEBUG|STDM_RESULT: from the Apex debug log. If findSessions returns empty, switch to Phase 1-ALT.

1.2 Get conversation details

Use getMultipleConversationDetails() for up to 5 sessions (most recent first). Returns turn-by-turn data with messages, steps, topics, and action results.

1.2b Get LLM prompt/response (optional)

When LOW adherence detected, use getLlmStepDetails() to get the actual LLM prompt and response.

1.2c Get aggregated metrics (recommended first step)

Use getAggregatedMetrics() for high-level health dashboard: session rates, top intents, quality distribution, RAG averages.

1.2d Get moment insights (per-session detail)

Use getMomentInsights() for intent summaries, quality scores (1-5), and retriever metrics per session.

1.2e Run observability queries (RAG deep-dive)

Use runObservabilityQuery() for targeted RAG analysis: KnowledgeGap, Hallucination, RetrievalQuality, AnswerRelevancy, Leaderboard.

1.3 Reconstruct conversations

Render turn-by-turn timeline from ConversationData JSON for each session.

1.4 Identify issues

Full issue pattern table and classification categories: see references/issue-classification.md

Check each session for: action errors, subagent misroutes, missing actions, wrong inputs, variable capture failures, no transitions, slow actions, LOW adherence, abandoned sessions, dead subagents, publish drift, dead hub anti-pattern, entry answering directly, and safety issues.

Priority: P1 = action errors, misroutes, LOW adherence; P2 = missing actions, variable bugs, knowledge gaps; P3 = performance, abandoned sessions.

1.5 Present findings and agent config evidence

Present sessions analyzed, issues grouped by root cause category, and uplift estimate. Then automatically proceed to analyze the .agent file to confirm root causes.

Full structural analysis checks, cross-reference procedures, and publish drift detection: see references/issue-classification.md

Retrieve the .agent file from the org, run automated checks (subagent count vs action blocks, dead hub detection, orphan actions, cross-subagent variable dependencies), and cross-reference STDM symptoms against the file structure.

Phase 2: Reproduce -- Live Preview

Full preview procedures, trace diagnosis commands, and classification criteria: see references/reproduce-reference.md

Build one test scenario per confirmed issue from Phase 1. Run each through sf agent preview with --authoring-bundle (generates local traces). Run each scenario 3 times and classify:

Only [CONFIRMED] and [INTERMITTENT] issues proceed to Phase 3.

Key commands:

Trace location: .sfdx/agents/{Name}/sessions/{sessionId}/traces/{planId}.json

Phase 3: Improve -- Edit .agent File Directly

Full procedures for pre-flight checks, fix mapping, instruction principles, regression prevention, deployment chain, verification, safety re-verification, and test case creation: see references/improve-reference.md

3.0 Pre-flight

Verify all action targets exist and are registered in the org before editing. If targets are missing, present options: deploy stubs, remove actions, register via UI, or proceed with routing-only fixes.

3.1-3.3 Map issue, edit, and follow instruction principles

Map each confirmed issue to a fix location in the .agent file (description, instructions, actions, bindings, transitions). Use the Edit tool for targeted changes. Follow instruction principles: name actions explicitly, state pre-conditions, scope tightly, keep persona in system: only.

3.4 Regression prevention

Establish baseline before editing. Make minimal edits. Test immediately after each edit. One fix per publish cycle. Check cross-subagent dependencies. Test adjacent subagents.

3.5 Apply fixes

Read the .agent file, edit with the Edit tool (tabs for indentation), show the diff.

3.6 Validate, deploy, publish, activate

If publish fails, use deploy + activate fallback (note: incomplete -- does not propagate reasoning: actions: to live metadata).

3.7 Verify

Run Phase 2 scenarios post-fix. Check trace for correct routing, grounding, tools, and variables. After 24-48 hours, re-run Phase 1 to compare against baseline.

3.7b Safety re-verification (required)

Re-run safety review (Section 15 of /developing-agentforce) on the modified .agent file. Revert any changes that introduce BLOCK findings.

3.8 Update Testing Center test cases

Create regression test cases from confirmed issues in Testing Center YAML format. Deploy with sf agent test create and verify all previously-broken scenarios pass.

Reference Files