Define agent success as 80%+ firing rate, not subjective…

Define agent success as a measurable outcome with a minimum acceptable firing rate threshold (typically 80% over one week for new agents) rather than subjective satisfaction, because subjective assessment systematically inflates reliability perception.

When This Fires

When evaluating whether a behavioral agent is "working"
During weekly reviews (Review new agents weekly, established ones monthly…) when assessing new agent performance
When you feel confident about a habit but haven't tracked actual data
When comparing self-reported behavior change success to observed outcomes

Common Failure Mode

Using subjective satisfaction as the success criterion: "It feels like the habit is sticking." This produces premature confidence that causes you to stop monitoring and adjusting. The agent may be firing at 50% — enough to create a subjective sense of consistency but not enough to produce reliable behavior change. Without measurement, you won't discover the gap until the agent silently dies.

The Protocol

(1) Before installing any behavioral agent, define what measurable success looks like: "This agent succeeds when it fires in X% of valid trigger instances over Y time period." (2) For new agents, the default threshold is 80% over one week. (3) Track actual performance: count trigger instances and firing instances. Calculate the rate. (4) Compare to threshold: ≥80% → agent is functioning. Continue and extend review interval. <80% → agent needs diagnosis (Diagnose failing behavioral agents by component — trigger…) and structural adjustment. (5) Never substitute felt reliability for tracked data. "It feels like I'm doing well" is not a data point — count the instances.