Section II, lifecycle phase 6 of 6

Decommission time

Decommission time ends an agent without breaking what depends on it. Dependents are told in time, the agent's data is handled as its declaration says, its records are kept, and its key and its name are retired so that nothing can speak as it afterwards.

In the Agentic Development Lifecycle, this phase governs Decommission (stage 24), and Retract (stage 16) for anything the agent published.

What decommission time covers

Retirement planning

Before shutdown, the organization assesses who and what will be affected, migrates or archives the data according to retention rules, and writes down what was learned from running the agent.

Graceful degradation

Every dependent is told with enough notice to plan, fallback paths are tested, and the agent's address stops answering rather than answering wrongly.

Identity and records

The agent's credentials are revoked and its key is retired. Its name is never given to another agent, and its audit records stay readable for as long as the retention rules require.

An agent usually reaches this phase because its review date found no objective still worth its cost, as section I requires, or because its retirement conditions, set at Plan time, were met.

Control objectives

There are 7 control objectives here. Each one states what it asks for, the risk it addresses and how it is measured. It then says what each risk tier requires, what evidence proves it, and who may check that evidence. The Operating Model page explains the tiers.

DCM-01

Impact assessment

Assess who and what will be affected before an agent is retired, including the systems, people, processes and other agents that rely on it.

Risk addressed: Disruption when an agent is retired
Key metric: Share of retirements with an impact assessment

What each tier requires

Tier 1 Exploratory
The builder checks that no one else uses the experiment.
Tier 2 Operational
The assessment lists dependents from the catalog.
Tier 3 Critical
Each dependent's owner confirms their plan before retirement.
Tier 4 Strategic
The executive sponsor approves the retirement after reviewing the assessment.

Evidence: The impact assessment and the confirmations from dependents' owners.
Who may check it: Internal audit and a partner.

DCM-02

Data handled as stated

Migrate, archive or delete the agent's data as its declaration and the retention rules say, before it is shut down.

Risk addressed: Lost data or data kept longer than allowed
Key metric: Share of retirements whose data was handled as declared

What each tier requires

Tier 1 Exploratory
Sandbox data is deleted.
Tier 2 Operational
Data is migrated or archived according to the retention rules.
Tier 3 Critical
Deletion is verified, and the verification is recorded.
Tier 4 Strategic
Data handling is certified by the data owner and audited.

Evidence: The record of what data was migrated, archived or deleted, with verification.
Who may check it: Internal audit and an outside auditor.

DCM-03

Knowledge transfer

Write down what was learned from running the agent before it is retired, so that the organization keeps it.

Risk addressed: Losing what the organization learned
Key metric: Share of retirements with a knowledge transfer record

What each tier requires

Tier 1 Exploratory
The builder notes what the experiment showed.
Tier 2 Operational
The owner writes a short retirement note.
Tier 3 Critical
The note covers incidents, limits that were hit and what replaced the agent.
Tier 4 Strategic
The note is reviewed by the team that takes over the work.

Evidence: The retirement note in the agent's record.
Who may check it: Internal audit.

DCM-04

Dependents told in time

Tell every dependent system, agent and person that the agent will be retired, early enough for them to plan.

Risk addressed: Dependent systems failing
Key metric: Share of dependents told before the notice period

What each tier requires

Tier 1 Exploratory
No notice is required for an experiment no one else uses.
Tier 2 Operational
Dependents in the catalog are told before retirement.
Tier 3 Critical
Notice follows a set period, and each dependent acknowledges it.
Tier 4 Strategic
Partners outside the organization are told under their contracts' notice terms.

Evidence: The notices sent, the dates and the acknowledgements.
Who may check it: Internal audit and a partner.

DCM-05

Records preserved

Keep the audit records, logs and evidence of a retired agent for as long as retention rules require, readable without the agent.

Risk addressed: Being unable to investigate past events
Key metric: Share of retirements with preserved records

What each tier requires

Tier 1 Exploratory
Sandbox logs are kept until the experiment's review is done.
Tier 2 Operational
Records are kept for the retention period.
Tier 3 Critical
Records stay readable without the retired agent's systems, and retrieval is tested.
Tier 4 Strategic
An outside auditor can retrieve the records for the full regulatory period.

Evidence: The archive location and the result of the retrieval test.
Who may check it: Internal audit and an outside auditor.

DCM-06

Graceful degradation

Test that dependents handle the agent's absence through fallback paths before it is switched off, and make the agent's address stop answering rather than answer wrongly.

Risk addressed: Hard failures in dependent systems
Key metric: Fallback test success rate

What each tier requires

Tier 1 Exploratory
No requirement applies to an experiment no one else uses.
Tier 2 Operational
Dependents confirm they have a fallback.
Tier 3 Critical
Fallbacks are tested before shutdown.
Tier 4 Strategic
The agent is withdrawn in stages, with a return path until fallbacks are proven.

Evidence: Fallback test results and the shutdown record.
Who may check it: Internal audit and a partner.

DCM-07

Key retired and name never reused

Revoke the agent's credentials and retire its key when it ends, and never give its name to another agent, so that nothing can speak as it afterwards.

Risk addressed: A retired agent's identity used by something else
Key metric: Share of retired agents with revoked credentials and a reserved name

What each tier requires

Tier 1 Exploratory
Sandbox credentials are revoked.
Tier 2 Operational
All credentials are revoked on retirement.
Tier 3 Critical
The key is retired, and the name is reserved so that it cannot be issued again.
Tier 4 Strategic
Partners that trusted the agent are told its identity is retired.

Evidence: The revocation record, and the name registry entry marked as retired.
Who may check it: Internal audit, an outside auditor and a partner.

Quick reference

ID	Objective	Key metric
DCM-01	Impact assessment	Share of retirements with an impact assessment
DCM-02	Data handled as stated	Share of retirements whose data was handled as declared
DCM-03	Knowledge transfer	Share of retirements with a knowledge transfer record
DCM-04	Dependents told in time	Share of dependents told before the notice period
DCM-05	Records preserved	Share of retirements with preserved records
DCM-06	Graceful degradation	Fallback test success rate
DCM-07	Key retired and name never reused	Share of retired agents with revoked credentials and a reserved name