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Beyond the 'Diff': Addressing Agentic Entropy in Agentic Software Development

Authors: Matteo Casserini; Alessandro Facchini; Andrea Ferrario;

Beyond the 'Diff': Addressing Agentic Entropy in Agentic Software Development

Abstract

As autonomous coding agents become deeply embedded in software development workflows, their high operational velocity introduces a critical oversight challenge: the accumulating divergence between agentic actions and architectural intent. We term this process agentic entropy: a systemic drift that traditional code diff-based and HCXAI methods fail to capture, as they address local outputs rather than global agentic behaviour. To close this gap, we propose a process-oriented explainability framework that exposes how agentic decisions unfold across time, tool calls, and architectural boundaries. Built around three pillars (conformity seeding, reasoning monitoring, and a causal graph interface) our approach provides intent-level telemetry that complements, rather than replaces, existing review practices. We demonstrate its relevance across two user profiles: lay users engaged in vibe coding, who gain structural visibility otherwise masked by functional success; and professional developers, who gain richer contextual grounding for code review without increased overhead. By treating cognitive drift as a first-class concern alongside code quality, our framework supports the minimum level of human comprehension required for agentic oversight to remain substantive.

Proceedings of the CHI 2026 Workshop on Human-Centered Explainable AI (HCXAI); April 13–17, 2026; Barcelona, Spain.

Keywords

Software Engineering (cs.SE), FOS: Computer and information sciences, Vibe Coding, Artificial Intelligence (cs.AI), Artificial Intelligence, Process‑Oriented Explainability, Human‑Centered XAI, Agentic Entropy, Cognitive Debt, Software Engineering, Reasoning Traces, Agentic Software Development

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selected citations
These citations are derived from selected sources.
This is an alternative to the "Influence" indicator, which also reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
BIP!Citations provided by BIP!
popularity
This indicator reflects the "current" impact/attention (the "hype") of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network.
BIP!Popularity provided by BIP!
influence
This indicator reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
BIP!Influence provided by BIP!
impulse
This indicator reflects the initial momentum of an article directly after its publication, based on the underlying citation network.
BIP!Impulse provided by BIP!
0
Average
Average
Average