Enable Partner Bobchestrate Workshop

Build, evaluate, and deploy AI agents with IBM watsonx Orchestrate while using IBM Bob as your development partner.

Format

• Level: Beginner to intermediate
• Tested ADK: IBM watsonx Orchestrate ADK 2.14.0
• Participant project: a new, empty bobchestrate-ws folder

Use the tested version

Commands and YAML examples target ADK 2.14.0. If your version differs, consult the ADK release notes.

Before the workshop

You need:

• a GitHub account and IBM partner account
• a reserved watsonx Orchestrate environment from TechZone
• a Bob enterprise account requested through IBM Support
• IBM Bob IDE, Python 3.12, and uv

Complete the Prerequisites before beginning the workshop.

Core workshop path

Part	Outcome
1. Setup	Prepare Bob IDE, its workspace rule, Python, ADK, MCP servers, and the workshop environment
2. First Agent	Create, import, and test a native agent
3. Custom Tools	Add order-status and refund tools
4. Knowledge & Collaborators	Add FAQs and an escalation agent
5. Guidelines & Guardrails	Add behavioral guidance and input controls
6. Evaluation & Red-Teaming	Test expected behavior and adversarial prompts
7. Deployment	Promote the agent and generate webchat configuration
8. NL2SQL Accelerator	Discover a database and generate an editable NL2SQL agent

NL2SQL is a mandatory standalone use case. It does not modify or rename the customer-support agents created in Parts 2–7.

Optional modules

These modules are independent extensions and are not required for the core workshop:

• Multi-Agent Orchestration
• MCP Servers
• Agentic Workflows
• AI Gateway Models

What you will leave with

By the end of the core workshop, you will be able to:

• define native agents with validated YAML
• build and import Python tools
• attach knowledge bases and collaborators
• add guidelines and guardrail plugins
• create evaluation datasets and run red-team checks
• deploy a tested draft agent
• generate an NL2SQL agent from discovered database metadata
• use Bob to create, review, and troubleshoot Orchestrate artifacts

Working style

For each exercise:

1. Give Bob the task using the provided prompt.
2. Let Bob inspect the project, consult the Orchestrate documentation MCP, generate or update the files, and propose the commands it needs.
3. Review the files and approve Bob's import or test commands.
4. Ask Bob to suggest test prompts, then verify the observed behavior yourself.
5. Use the documented CLI only as a fallback or to understand what Bob ran.

Bob is the primary workshop interface, but it must not receive API keys or other secrets in chat. Enter secrets only in the dedicated environment or connection prompts.

If you get stuck, include the command, exact error, operating system, and relevant file when asking Bob for help. More examples are available in Helpful Bob Prompts.

If you fall behind

The Reference Solution is a completed snapshot of the project with a file list for every core part. Copy the files for the parts you have already passed, import them, and rejoin the workshop at your current step.

Start with the prerequisites →