# How to test agent experience changes without shipping them

DevFeed: [How to test agent experience changes without shipping them](<https://devfeed.tech/articles/how-to-test-agent-experience-changes-without-shipping-them-23830.md>)

Original publisher: [Read original article](<https://devblogs.microsoft.com/blog/how-to-test-agent-experience-changes-without-shipping-them/>)

Author: Waldek Mastykarz, Garry Trinder

Published: 2026-07-21T07:15:12Z

Content type: tutorial

Language: en

Sources: [Developer Blogs](<https://devfeed.tech/sources/developer-blogs.md>)

Topics: [AI Agent](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/ai-agent.md>), [Documentation](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/documentation.md>), [API](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/api.md>), [MCP](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/mcp.md>), [Command-line interface](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/cli.md>), [upgrade](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/upgrade.md>)

Tags: [agent-experience](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/agent-experience.md>), [ai](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/ai.md>), [ai-agent](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/ai-agent.md>), [api](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/api.md>), [ax](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/ax.md>), [cli](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/cli.md>), [developers](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/developers.md>), [documentation](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/documentation.md>), [how-to](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/how-to.md>), [mcp](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/mcp.md>), [mcp-server](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/mcp-server.md>), [upgrade](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/upgrade.md>)

## AI overview

This Microsoft for Developers article explains how to test changes intended to influence AI agent behavior before shipping them. It describes validating documentation, API, and MCP server changes locally, using evaluations and controlled hypotheses, and reports that a warning stating an existing plan would fail changed the agent's behavior in five out of five runs.

## Source excerpt

Most changes you think will improve AI agent behavior won't. We tested a dozen hypotheses on a real project upgrade scenario and the majority failed. Learn how to emulate documentation, API, and MCP server changes locally so you can validate what works before shipping anything to production. The post How to test agent experience changes without shipping them appeared first on Microsoft for Developers.