TDD Governance for Multi-Agent Code Generation via Prompt Engineering

TL;DR

This paper introduces a structured TDD framework for multi-agent code generation with LLMs, enforcing discipline and stability through prompt-level governance and layered architecture.

Contribution

It formalizes classical TDD principles into a machine-readable manifesto and integrates them into an architecture that improves LLM code generation reliability.

Findings

Enforces phase ordering and validation gates

Improves stability and reproducibility of LLM code generation

Separates proposal and authority layers for better control

Abstract

Large language models (LLMs) accelerate software development but often exhibit instability, non-determinism, and weak adherence to development discipline in unconstrained workflows. While test-driven development (TDD) provides a structured Red-Green-Refactor process, existing LLM-based approaches typically use tests as auxiliary inputs rather than enforceable process constraints. We present an AI-native TDD framework that operationalizes classical TDD principles as structured prompt-level and workflow-level governance mechanisms. Extracted principles are formalized in a machine-readable manifesto and distributed across planning, generation, repair, and validation stages within a layered architecture that separates model proposal from deterministic engine authority. The system enforces phase ordering, bounded repair loops, validation gates, and atomic mutation control to improve stability and reproducibility. We describe architecture and discuss encoding software engineering discipline directly into prompt orchestration, which we think offers a promising direction for reliable LLM-assisted development.