From 1b4c59ea38374f60e8462c0af525f6c3f314a614 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: "copilot-swe-agent[bot]" <198982749+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>
Date: Tue, 3 Mar 2026 19:39:46 +0000
Subject: [PATCH] Add ConversationDynamics.IntegrationTests harness and add to
solution
Co-authored-by: crickman <66376200+crickman@users.noreply.github.com>
---
dotnet/agent-framework-dotnet.slnx | 1 +
.../ConversationAgentDefinition.cs | 27 +++
.../ConversationContextSerializer.cs | 70 ++++++
...nversationDynamics.IntegrationTests.csproj | 14 ++
.../ConversationHarness.cs | 214 ++++++++++++++++++
.../ConversationHarnessTests.cs | 138 +++++++++++
.../ConversationMetrics.cs | 24 ++
.../ConversationMetricsReport.cs | 35 +++
.../ConversationStep.cs | 33 +++
.../IConversationTestCase.cs | 68 ++++++
.../IConversationTestSystem.cs | 52 +++++
11 files changed, 676 insertions(+)
create mode 100644 dotnet/tests/ConversationDynamics.IntegrationTests/ConversationAgentDefinition.cs
create mode 100644 dotnet/tests/ConversationDynamics.IntegrationTests/ConversationContextSerializer.cs
create mode 100644 dotnet/tests/ConversationDynamics.IntegrationTests/ConversationDynamics.IntegrationTests.csproj
create mode 100644 dotnet/tests/ConversationDynamics.IntegrationTests/ConversationHarness.cs
create mode 100644 dotnet/tests/ConversationDynamics.IntegrationTests/ConversationHarnessTests.cs
create mode 100644 dotnet/tests/ConversationDynamics.IntegrationTests/ConversationMetrics.cs
create mode 100644 dotnet/tests/ConversationDynamics.IntegrationTests/ConversationMetricsReport.cs
create mode 100644 dotnet/tests/ConversationDynamics.IntegrationTests/ConversationStep.cs
create mode 100644 dotnet/tests/ConversationDynamics.IntegrationTests/IConversationTestCase.cs
create mode 100644 dotnet/tests/ConversationDynamics.IntegrationTests/IConversationTestSystem.cs
diff --git a/dotnet/agent-framework-dotnet.slnx b/dotnet/agent-framework-dotnet.slnx
index 9801ccc105..33b44313ce 100644
--- a/dotnet/agent-framework-dotnet.slnx
+++ b/dotnet/agent-framework-dotnet.slnx
@@ -464,6 +464,7 @@
+
diff --git a/dotnet/tests/ConversationDynamics.IntegrationTests/ConversationAgentDefinition.cs b/dotnet/tests/ConversationDynamics.IntegrationTests/ConversationAgentDefinition.cs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..afecf90c63
--- /dev/null
+++ b/dotnet/tests/ConversationDynamics.IntegrationTests/ConversationAgentDefinition.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+// Copyright (c) Microsoft. All rights reserved.
+
+using System.Collections.Generic;
+using Microsoft.Extensions.AI;
+
+namespace ConversationDynamics.IntegrationTests;
+
+///
+/// Defines an agent participating in a .
+///
+public sealed class ConversationAgentDefinition
+{
+ ///
+ /// Gets or sets the unique name identifying this agent within the test case.
+ ///
+ public required string Name { get; init; }
+
+ ///
+ /// Gets or sets the system instructions for the agent.
+ ///
+ public string Instructions { get; init; } = "You are a helpful assistant.";
+
+ ///
+ /// Gets or sets the optional list of tools available to the agent.
+ ///
+ public IList? Tools { get; init; }
+}
diff --git a/dotnet/tests/ConversationDynamics.IntegrationTests/ConversationContextSerializer.cs b/dotnet/tests/ConversationDynamics.IntegrationTests/ConversationContextSerializer.cs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..b1db3846fb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/dotnet/tests/ConversationDynamics.IntegrationTests/ConversationContextSerializer.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,70 @@
+// Copyright (c) Microsoft. All rights reserved.
+
+using System;
+using System.Collections.Generic;
+using System.IO;
+using System.Text.Json;
+using Microsoft.Agents.AI;
+using Microsoft.Extensions.AI;
+
+namespace ConversationDynamics.IntegrationTests;
+
+///
+/// Provides helpers for serializing and deserializing conversation contexts (lists of )
+/// to and from JSON, enabling the initial context of a test case to be captured once and reused across runs.
+///
+public static class ConversationContextSerializer
+{
+ private static readonly JsonSerializerOptions s_serializerOptions = AgentAbstractionsJsonUtilities.DefaultOptions;
+
+ ///
+ /// Serializes a list of instances to a JSON string.
+ ///
+ /// The messages to serialize.
+ /// A JSON string representation of the messages.
+ public static string Serialize(IList messages) =>
+ JsonSerializer.Serialize(messages, s_serializerOptions);
+
+ ///
+ /// Deserializes a JSON string into a list of instances.
+ ///
+ /// The JSON string to deserialize.
+ /// The deserialized list of messages.
+ ///
+ /// Thrown when the JSON cannot be deserialized into a list of instances.
+ ///
+ public static IList Deserialize(string json)
+ {
+ var messages = JsonSerializer.Deserialize>(json, s_serializerOptions);
+ return messages ?? throw new InvalidOperationException("Failed to deserialize chat messages from the provided JSON.");
+ }
+
+ ///
+ /// Saves a list of instances to a JSON file.
+ ///
+ /// The path of the file to write.
+ /// The messages to save.
+ public static void SaveToFile(string filePath, IList messages)
+ {
+ var json = Serialize(messages);
+ File.WriteAllText(filePath, json);
+ }
+
+ ///
+ /// Loads a list of instances from a JSON file.
+ ///
+ /// The path of the file to read.
+ /// The deserialized list of messages.
+ /// Thrown when does not exist.
+ public static IList LoadFromFile(string filePath)
+ {
+ if (!File.Exists(filePath))
+ {
+ throw new FileNotFoundException($"Conversation context file not found: '{filePath}'. " +
+ "Run the context creation step first to generate this file.", filePath);
+ }
+
+ var json = File.ReadAllText(filePath);
+ return Deserialize(json);
+ }
+}
diff --git a/dotnet/tests/ConversationDynamics.IntegrationTests/ConversationDynamics.IntegrationTests.csproj b/dotnet/tests/ConversationDynamics.IntegrationTests/ConversationDynamics.IntegrationTests.csproj
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..ac38a0629f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/dotnet/tests/ConversationDynamics.IntegrationTests/ConversationDynamics.IntegrationTests.csproj
@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+
+
+
+ false
+ true
+ true
+ true
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
diff --git a/dotnet/tests/ConversationDynamics.IntegrationTests/ConversationHarness.cs b/dotnet/tests/ConversationDynamics.IntegrationTests/ConversationHarness.cs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..2cb879b922
--- /dev/null
+++ b/dotnet/tests/ConversationDynamics.IntegrationTests/ConversationHarness.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,214 @@
+// Copyright (c) Microsoft. All rights reserved.
+
+using System;
+using System.Collections.Generic;
+using System.Linq;
+using System.Threading;
+using System.Threading.Tasks;
+using Microsoft.Agents.AI;
+using Microsoft.Extensions.AI;
+
+namespace ConversationDynamics.IntegrationTests;
+
+///
+/// Orchestrates the execution of a against a given
+/// : restores the conversation context, optionally runs compaction,
+/// executes each step, captures before/after metrics, and runs per-step validations.
+///
+public sealed class ConversationHarness
+{
+ private readonly IConversationTestSystem _system;
+
+ ///
+ /// Initializes a new instance of .
+ ///
+ /// The system under test that provides agent creation and compaction.
+ public ConversationHarness(IConversationTestSystem system)
+ {
+ if (system is null)
+ {
+ throw new ArgumentNullException(nameof(system));
+ }
+
+ this._system = system;
+ }
+
+ ///
+ /// Runs the supplied from its serialized initial context, executing
+ /// every in order and returning the combined metrics report.
+ ///
+ /// The test case to execute.
+ /// A token to cancel the operation.
+ ///
+ /// A describing the before-and-after state of the
+ /// conversation context across all steps.
+ ///
+ /// is .
+ ///
+ /// Thrown when a step references an agent name that is not present in .
+ ///
+ public async Task RunAsync(
+ IConversationTestCase testCase,
+ CancellationToken cancellationToken = default)
+ {
+ if (testCase is null)
+ {
+ throw new ArgumentNullException(nameof(testCase));
+ }
+
+ // 1. Restore the initial context.
+ var initialMessages = testCase.GetInitialMessages();
+
+ // 2. Capture "before" metrics.
+ var beforeMetrics = MeasureMetrics(initialMessages);
+
+ // 3. Create the agents defined for this test case.
+ var agents = new Dictionary(StringComparer.Ordinal);
+ foreach (var entry in testCase.AgentDefinitions)
+ {
+ agents[entry.Key] = await this._system.CreateAgentAsync(entry.Value, cancellationToken).ConfigureAwait(false);
+ }
+
+ // 4. Create sessions and restore the initial messages for each agent.
+ var sessions = new Dictionary(StringComparer.Ordinal);
+ foreach (var entry in agents)
+ {
+ var session = await entry.Value.CreateSessionAsync(cancellationToken).ConfigureAwait(false);
+ RestoreMessages(entry.Value, session, initialMessages);
+ sessions[entry.Key] = session;
+ }
+
+ // 5. Optionally compact the messages.
+ var compacted = await this._system.CompactAsync(initialMessages, cancellationToken).ConfigureAwait(false);
+ if (compacted is not null)
+ {
+ // Apply the compacted history to all agent sessions.
+ foreach (var entry in agents)
+ {
+ RestoreMessages(entry.Value, sessions[entry.Key], compacted);
+ }
+ }
+
+ // 6. Execute each step.
+ foreach (var step in testCase.Steps)
+ {
+ if (!agents.TryGetValue(step.AgentName, out var agent))
+ {
+ throw new InvalidOperationException(
+ $"Step references agent '{step.AgentName}' which is not defined in the test case. " +
+ $"Defined agents: {string.Join(", ", agents.Keys)}");
+ }
+
+ var session = sessions[step.AgentName];
+ AgentResponse response;
+
+ if (step.Input is not null)
+ {
+ response = await agent.RunAsync(step.Input, session, cancellationToken: cancellationToken).ConfigureAwait(false);
+ }
+ else
+ {
+ response = await agent.RunAsync(session, cancellationToken: cancellationToken).ConfigureAwait(false);
+ }
+
+ // 7. Capture "after" metrics for this step and run the step's validation.
+ var currentMessages = GetCurrentMessages(agent, sessions[step.AgentName], initialMessages, compacted);
+ var afterMetrics = MeasureMetrics(currentMessages);
+ var metricsReport = new ConversationMetricsReport
+ {
+ Before = beforeMetrics,
+ After = afterMetrics,
+ };
+
+ step.Validate?.Invoke(response, metricsReport);
+ }
+
+ // 8. Capture the final "after" metrics from the first agent's session.
+ var firstAgent = agents.Values.First();
+ var firstSession = sessions[agents.Keys.First()];
+ var finalMessages = GetCurrentMessages(firstAgent, firstSession, initialMessages, compacted);
+ var finalAfterMetrics = MeasureMetrics(finalMessages);
+
+ return new ConversationMetricsReport
+ {
+ Before = beforeMetrics,
+ After = finalAfterMetrics,
+ };
+ }
+
+ ///
+ /// Drives a conversation with the agents defined in to produce the initial
+ /// context, then serializes that context to .
+ ///
+ ///
+ /// This method should be called once (outside of normal test execution) to generate the fixture
+ /// data that tests will subsequently restore via .
+ ///
+ /// The test case whose initial context should be created.
+ /// The file path to write the serialized context to.
+ /// A token to cancel the operation.
+ public async Task SerializeInitialContextAsync(
+ IConversationTestCase testCase,
+ string outputFilePath,
+ CancellationToken cancellationToken = default)
+ {
+ if (testCase is null)
+ {
+ throw new ArgumentNullException(nameof(testCase));
+ }
+
+ if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(outputFilePath))
+ {
+ throw new ArgumentException("Output file path must not be null or empty.", nameof(outputFilePath));
+ }
+
+ // Create agents for context generation.
+ var agents = new Dictionary(StringComparer.Ordinal);
+ foreach (var entry in testCase.AgentDefinitions)
+ {
+ agents[entry.Key] = await this._system.CreateAgentAsync(entry.Value, cancellationToken).ConfigureAwait(false);
+ }
+
+ var messages = await testCase.CreateInitialContextAsync(agents, cancellationToken).ConfigureAwait(false);
+ ConversationContextSerializer.SaveToFile(outputFilePath, messages);
+ }
+
+ // -------------------------------------------------------------------------
+ // Private helpers
+ // -------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+ private static ConversationMetrics MeasureMetrics(IList messages)
+ {
+ var serialized = ConversationContextSerializer.Serialize(messages);
+ return new ConversationMetrics
+ {
+ MessageCount = messages.Count,
+ SerializedSizeBytes = System.Text.Encoding.UTF8.GetByteCount(serialized),
+ };
+ }
+
+ private static void RestoreMessages(AIAgent agent, AgentSession session, IList messages)
+ {
+ // InMemoryChatHistoryProvider is the standard history provider for ChatClientAgent.
+ // When found, load the messages directly into the provider's state for this session.
+ if (agent.GetService() is InMemoryChatHistoryProvider memProvider)
+ {
+ memProvider.SetMessages(session, messages.ToList());
+ }
+ }
+
+ private static IList GetCurrentMessages(
+ AIAgent agent,
+ AgentSession session,
+ IList fallbackInitial,
+ IList? compacted)
+ {
+ if (agent.GetService() is InMemoryChatHistoryProvider memProvider)
+ {
+ return memProvider.GetMessages(session);
+ }
+
+ // Fall back to the compacted (or original) initial messages when the provider is unavailable.
+ return compacted ?? fallbackInitial;
+ }
+}
diff --git a/dotnet/tests/ConversationDynamics.IntegrationTests/ConversationHarnessTests.cs b/dotnet/tests/ConversationDynamics.IntegrationTests/ConversationHarnessTests.cs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..05a6f0ffdf
--- /dev/null
+++ b/dotnet/tests/ConversationDynamics.IntegrationTests/ConversationHarnessTests.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,138 @@
+// Copyright (c) Microsoft. All rights reserved.
+
+using System;
+using System.Collections.Generic;
+using System.Diagnostics;
+using System.Threading.Tasks;
+using Xunit.Abstractions;
+
+namespace ConversationDynamics.IntegrationTests;
+
+///
+/// Abstract xunit base class for conversation dynamics integration tests.
+///
+///
+///
+/// Subclasses must implement and to provide
+/// the AI backend and the set of test cases to run. Each subclass will automatically inherit the
+/// test method, which runs every case returned by
+/// through the .
+///
+///
+/// To generate (and serialize) the initial context for a test case, the same subclass inherits
+/// , which should be run once outside of normal CI.
+///
+///
+///
+/// The concrete implementation that provides agent creation
+/// and compaction for the system under test.
+///
+public abstract class ConversationHarnessTests
+ where TSystem : IConversationTestSystem
+{
+ private readonly ITestOutputHelper? _output;
+
+ ///
+ /// Initializes a new instance of .
+ ///
+ protected ConversationHarnessTests()
+ {
+ }
+
+ ///
+ /// Initializes a new instance of with xunit test output.
+ ///
+ /// The xunit test output helper used to log metrics and step results.
+ protected ConversationHarnessTests(ITestOutputHelper output)
+ {
+ this._output = output;
+ }
+
+ ///
+ /// Creates the to use for agent creation and compaction.
+ ///
+ protected abstract TSystem CreateTestSystem();
+
+ ///
+ /// Returns the set of instances to exercise.
+ ///
+ protected abstract IEnumerable GetTestCases();
+
+ ///
+ /// Runs all test cases returned by and logs the metrics report for each.
+ ///
+ [Fact]
+ public virtual async Task RunAllTestCasesAsync()
+ {
+ var system = this.CreateTestSystem();
+ var harness = new ConversationHarness(system);
+
+ foreach (var testCase in this.GetTestCases())
+ {
+ this.Log($"[{testCase.Name}] Running...");
+ var stopwatch = Stopwatch.StartNew();
+
+ var report = await harness.RunAsync(testCase);
+
+ stopwatch.Stop();
+ this.Log($"[{testCase.Name}] Completed in {stopwatch.ElapsedMilliseconds}ms. Metrics: {report}");
+ }
+ }
+
+ ///
+ /// Generates and serializes the initial context for each test case returned by .
+ ///
+ ///
+ /// This test is skipped during normal test runs because generating contexts requires live AI calls and
+ /// can be expensive. Run it explicitly (e.g., with dotnet test --filter "FullyQualifiedName~Serialize")
+ /// to regenerate the fixture files. After running, commit the generated files alongside the test code.
+ ///
+ [Fact(Skip = "Run explicitly to regenerate initial context fixture files.")]
+ public virtual async Task SerializeAllInitialContextsAsync()
+ {
+ var system = this.CreateTestSystem();
+ var harness = new ConversationHarness(system);
+
+ foreach (var testCase in this.GetTestCases())
+ {
+ var outputPath = GetDefaultContextFilePath(testCase);
+ this.Log($"[{testCase.Name}] Serializing initial context to '{outputPath}'...");
+
+ await harness.SerializeInitialContextAsync(testCase, outputPath);
+
+ this.Log($"[{testCase.Name}] Context serialized successfully.");
+ }
+ }
+
+ // -------------------------------------------------------------------------
+ // Protected helpers for subclasses
+ // -------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+ ///
+ /// Computes the default file path used by when
+ /// writing the initial context for .
+ ///
+ ///
+ /// Override this method to change the output location. The default path is
+ /// {TestCase.Name}.context.json relative to the current working directory.
+ ///
+ /// The test case whose default output path is required.
+ /// The absolute or relative file path to write the serialized context to.
+ protected virtual string GetDefaultContextFilePath(IConversationTestCase testCase) =>
+ $"{testCase.Name}.context.json";
+
+ ///
+ /// Writes a message to the xunit test output, if available, otherwise to the console.
+ ///
+ protected void Log(string message)
+ {
+ if (this._output is not null)
+ {
+ this._output.WriteLine(message);
+ }
+ else
+ {
+ Console.WriteLine(message);
+ }
+ }
+}
diff --git a/dotnet/tests/ConversationDynamics.IntegrationTests/ConversationMetrics.cs b/dotnet/tests/ConversationDynamics.IntegrationTests/ConversationMetrics.cs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..16fdeade5f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/dotnet/tests/ConversationDynamics.IntegrationTests/ConversationMetrics.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+// Copyright (c) Microsoft. All rights reserved.
+
+namespace ConversationDynamics.IntegrationTests;
+
+///
+/// Captures the size characteristics of a conversation context at a specific point in time.
+///
+public sealed class ConversationMetrics
+{
+ ///
+ /// Gets the number of messages in the conversation context.
+ ///
+ public required int MessageCount { get; init; }
+
+ ///
+ /// Gets the approximate serialized size of the conversation context in bytes.
+ /// This serves as a proxy for context window consumption.
+ ///
+ public required long SerializedSizeBytes { get; init; }
+
+ ///
+ public override string ToString() =>
+ $"Messages={MessageCount}, Size={SerializedSizeBytes}B";
+}
diff --git a/dotnet/tests/ConversationDynamics.IntegrationTests/ConversationMetricsReport.cs b/dotnet/tests/ConversationDynamics.IntegrationTests/ConversationMetricsReport.cs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..a3869a2d80
--- /dev/null
+++ b/dotnet/tests/ConversationDynamics.IntegrationTests/ConversationMetricsReport.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,35 @@
+// Copyright (c) Microsoft. All rights reserved.
+
+namespace ConversationDynamics.IntegrationTests;
+
+///
+/// Captures the before-and-after for a single test case run,
+/// enabling comparison and reporting of context size changes.
+///
+public sealed class ConversationMetricsReport
+{
+ ///
+ /// Gets the metrics captured before the agent steps were executed.
+ ///
+ public required ConversationMetrics Before { get; init; }
+
+ ///
+ /// Gets the metrics captured after the agent steps were executed.
+ ///
+ public required ConversationMetrics After { get; init; }
+
+ ///
+ /// Gets the change in message count between and .
+ /// A positive value means messages were added; a negative value means compaction removed messages.
+ ///
+ public int MessageCountDelta => After.MessageCount - Before.MessageCount;
+
+ ///
+ /// Gets the change in serialized size in bytes between and .
+ ///
+ public long SizeDeltaBytes => After.SerializedSizeBytes - Before.SerializedSizeBytes;
+
+ ///
+ public override string ToString() =>
+ $"Before=[{Before}] After=[{After}] Delta=[Messages={MessageCountDelta:+#;-#;0}, Size={SizeDeltaBytes:+#;-#;0}B]";
+}
diff --git a/dotnet/tests/ConversationDynamics.IntegrationTests/ConversationStep.cs b/dotnet/tests/ConversationDynamics.IntegrationTests/ConversationStep.cs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..2c4517b61d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/dotnet/tests/ConversationDynamics.IntegrationTests/ConversationStep.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,33 @@
+// Copyright (c) Microsoft. All rights reserved.
+
+using System;
+using Microsoft.Agents.AI;
+using Microsoft.Extensions.AI;
+
+namespace ConversationDynamics.IntegrationTests;
+
+///
+/// Represents a single step within a , combining the agent to invoke,
+/// an optional input message, and an optional validation delegate.
+///
+public sealed class ConversationStep
+{
+ ///
+ /// Gets or sets the name of the agent to invoke for this step.
+ /// Must match a key in .
+ ///
+ public required string AgentName { get; init; }
+
+ ///
+ /// Gets or sets the optional input message to send to the agent.
+ /// When , the agent is invoked with no new user input (useful for
+ /// eliciting a response from the existing conversation context).
+ ///
+ public ChatMessage? Input { get; init; }
+
+ ///
+ /// Gets or sets an optional delegate that validates the agent response and metrics for this step.
+ /// When , no validation is performed.
+ ///
+ public Action? Validate { get; init; }
+}
diff --git a/dotnet/tests/ConversationDynamics.IntegrationTests/IConversationTestCase.cs b/dotnet/tests/ConversationDynamics.IntegrationTests/IConversationTestCase.cs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..19b3e879cc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/dotnet/tests/ConversationDynamics.IntegrationTests/IConversationTestCase.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,68 @@
+// Copyright (c) Microsoft. All rights reserved.
+
+using System.Collections.Generic;
+using System.Threading;
+using System.Threading.Tasks;
+using Microsoft.Agents.AI;
+using Microsoft.Extensions.AI;
+
+namespace ConversationDynamics.IntegrationTests;
+
+///
+/// Defines a single conversation dynamics test case.
+///
+///
+/// Each test case describes the initial conversation context (as a list of instances),
+/// the agents that participate in the conversation, the steps to execute, and the expected outcomes.
+/// The initial context can either be loaded from a previously serialized file or generated on-demand
+/// via .
+///
+public interface IConversationTestCase
+{
+ ///
+ /// Gets the human-readable name that uniquely identifies this test case.
+ ///
+ string Name { get; }
+
+ ///
+ /// Gets the agents involved in this test case, keyed by their names.
+ /// Each entry is a that describes how to create the agent.
+ ///
+ IReadOnlyDictionary AgentDefinitions { get; }
+
+ ///
+ /// Returns the initial list of instances to restore into the conversation
+ /// context before any steps are executed.
+ ///
+ ///
+ /// The initial chat messages. These are typically loaded from a previously serialized JSON file
+ /// produced by .
+ ///
+ IList GetInitialMessages();
+
+ ///
+ /// Gets the ordered list of steps to execute against the restored conversation context.
+ ///
+ IReadOnlyList Steps { get; }
+
+ ///
+ /// Creates the initial conversation context by actually driving a conversation with the provided agents,
+ /// then returns the resulting list of messages.
+ ///
+ ///
+ /// This method is intended to be called once (e.g., during a setup phase) to produce the serialized
+ /// context that subsequent test runs will deserialize. Implementations should build up a long or
+ /// complex conversation that is representative of the long-running operation scenario being validated.
+ ///
+ ///
+ /// The agents to use when building the initial context, keyed by their names as defined in
+ /// .
+ ///
+ /// A token to cancel the operation.
+ ///
+ /// The ordered list of instances that form the initial context.
+ ///
+ Task> CreateInitialContextAsync(
+ IReadOnlyDictionary agents,
+ CancellationToken cancellationToken = default);
+}
diff --git a/dotnet/tests/ConversationDynamics.IntegrationTests/IConversationTestSystem.cs b/dotnet/tests/ConversationDynamics.IntegrationTests/IConversationTestSystem.cs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..ec617c6fdc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/dotnet/tests/ConversationDynamics.IntegrationTests/IConversationTestSystem.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,52 @@
+// Copyright (c) Microsoft. All rights reserved.
+
+using System.Collections.Generic;
+using System.Threading;
+using System.Threading.Tasks;
+using Microsoft.Agents.AI;
+using Microsoft.Extensions.AI;
+
+namespace ConversationDynamics.IntegrationTests;
+
+///
+/// Abstracts the system-specific concerns of a conversation dynamics test run: how agents are created
+/// and how context compaction is performed.
+///
+///
+/// Implement this interface to adapt the to a particular AI backend
+/// (e.g., OpenAI Chat Completion, Azure AI, OpenAI Responses API). Each implementation controls:
+///
+/// -
+/// How instances are turned into live objects.
+///
+/// -
+/// How context compaction is applied to a list of messages. Compaction is optional; returning
+/// means no compaction is performed.
+///
+///
+///
+public interface IConversationTestSystem
+{
+ ///
+ /// Creates a live from the supplied .
+ ///
+ /// The definition describing the agent to create.
+ /// A token to cancel the operation.
+ /// A fully-initialised ready to participate in the conversation.
+ Task CreateAgentAsync(
+ ConversationAgentDefinition definition,
+ CancellationToken cancellationToken = default);
+
+ ///
+ /// Optionally compacts (reduces) the supplied .
+ ///
+ /// The current list of messages to compact.
+ /// A token to cancel the operation.
+ ///
+ /// The compacted list of messages, or if no compaction was performed.
+ /// When is returned the original list is used unchanged.
+ ///
+ Task?> CompactAsync(
+ IList messages,
+ CancellationToken cancellationToken = default);
+}