CCARF Practice Question

Paper 5 · Question 40

D2 Tool Design & MCP Integration · Paper 5

[Scenario: Conversational AI Architecture Patterns] Your `remove_team_member` tool uses a `dry_run: boolean` parameter for previewing impacts before execution. Production monitoring shows the agent bypasses the preview step by calling with `dry_run=false` directly. You need to ensure every removal is preceded by a preview that the user explicitly confirms. What is the most reliable approach?

• A.Add server-side validation that permits `dry_run=false` only when a `dry_run=true` call with identical parameters occurred within the past 60 seconds.
• B.Annotate the tool as requiring confirmation and configure the orchestration layer to prompt the user for approval before forwarding any calls to annotated tools.
• C.Add detailed instructions and few-shot examples to the tool description requiring the agent to always call with `dry_run=true` first and wait for user confirmation before calling again.
• D.Replace with two tools: `preview_remove_member` returns impact details and a single-use confirmation token; `execute_remove_member` requires that token, binding execution to the preview.

Show answer & explanations

Correct answer: D

A: A 60-second window can expire, can be satisfied by a stale preview, and can be skipped when a field differs slightly.

B: An approval prompt in the orchestrator still depends on that layer seeing every call. It does not bind a specific preview to the execution.

C: Instructions and examples are what the agent is already skipping when it calls dry_run=false directly.

D: The two-tool token-binding approach makes it architecturally impossible to execute without a prior preview—the execute tool literally requires a token that only the preview tool can generate. This is the only approach that enforces the constraint at the code level rather than relying on LLM compliance with instructions (C), timing heuristics (A), or orchestration infrastructure (B).

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