Agentic Design Patterns: A System-Theoretic Framework

• URL: http://arxiv.org/abs/2601.19752v1
• Date: Tue, 27 Jan 2026 16:14:08 GMT
• Title: Agentic Design Patterns: A System-Theoretic Framework
• Authors: Minh-Dung Dao, Quy Minh Le, Hoang Thanh Lam, Duc-Trong Le, Quoc-Viet Pham, Barry O'Sullivan, Hoang D. Nguyen,
• Abstract summary: Existing efforts to agentic design patterns often lack a rigorous systems-theoretic foundation.<n>We propose a novel system-theoretic framework that deconstructs an agentic AI system into five core, interacting functional subsystems.<n>We present a collection of 12 agentic design patterns that offer reusable, structural solutions to recurring problems in agent design.
• Score: 8.108572809924956
• License: http://arxiv.org/licenses/nonexclusive-distrib/1.0/
• Abstract: With the development of foundation model (FM), agentic AI systems are getting more attention, yet their inherent issues like hallucination and poor reasoning, coupled with the frequent ad-hoc nature of system design, lead to unreliable and brittle applications. Existing efforts to characterise agentic design patterns often lack a rigorous systems-theoretic foundation, resulting in high-level or convenience-based taxonomies that are difficult to implement. This paper addresses this gap by introducing a principled methodology for engineering robust AI agents. We propose two primary contributions: first, a novel system-theoretic framework that deconstructs an agentic AI system into five core, interacting functional subsystems: Reasoning & World Model, Perception & Grounding, Action Execution, Learning & Adaptation, and Inter-Agent Communication. Second, derived from this architecture and directly mapped to a comprehensive taxonomy of agentic challenges, we present a collection of 12 agentic design patterns. These patterns - categorised as Foundational, Cognitive & Decisional, Execution & Interaction, and Adaptive & Learning - offer reusable, structural solutions to recurring problems in agent design. The utility of the framework is demonstrated by a case study on the ReAct framework, showing how the proposed patterns can rectify systemic architectural deficiencies. This work provides a foundational language and a structured methodology to standardise agentic design communication among researchers and engineers, leading to more modular, understandable, and reliable autonomous systems.

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