Multi-Agent AI Systems & the A2A Protocol

Single agents hit a ceiling. The real power — and the real complexity — comes from multiple specialized agents working together. 57% of organizations already deploy multi-step agent workflows, 16% have cross-functional agents, and 81% plan expansion. Google's A2A (Agent-to-Agent) protocol, now at v1.0 with 150+ organizations under Linux Foundation stewardship and production deployments at Microsoft, Salesforce, and ServiceNow, standardizes how agents discover each other via Agent Cards, negotiate task delegation via JSON-RPC 2.0/gRPC, and exchange structured results with multi-modal payloads. MCP defines agent-to-tool communication; A2A defines agent-to-agent communication — together they form the complete interoperability stack.
This full-day workshop teaches participants to design, build, and orchestrate multi-agent systems. They'll work hands-on with the four leading frameworks — LangGraph (126K+ stars, graph-based orchestration), CrewAI (44,300+ stars, 5.2M monthly downloads, role-based crews), AutoGen/Microsoft Agent Framework 1.0 (conversational GroupChat + A2A native support), and Google ADK (8,200+ stars, SDKs in Python/TypeScript/Java/Go) — and connect agents across frameworks using A2A for true cross-platform interoperability. Participants build three progressively complex multi-agent systems, culminating in a heterogeneous A2A-connected agent network.

Prerequisite: Experience building single AI agents (via the AI Accelerator, ai-aip workshop, or equivalent). Comfort with Python and LLM APIs. Familiarity with at least one agent framework is helpful but not required.
Covers: multi-agent architecture patterns (supervisor, hierarchical, collaborative, competitive, swarm); Google A2A protocol (Agent Cards, task lifecycle, JSON-RPC/gRPC transport, capability discovery, signed cards, multi-tenancy); LangGraph subgraphs and multi-agent patterns; CrewAI role-based crews with process types; AutoGen/MS Agent Framework conversational GroupChat; Google ADK multi-agent orchestration; cross-framework interoperability via A2A; agent communication patterns (delegation, negotiation, consensus, escalation); and production concerns (budget enforcement, deadlock prevention, observability). Approximately 35% lecture, 65% hands-on labs.

About Brent Laster

Hi, I'm Brent Laster - a global trainer and book author, experienced corporate technology developer and leader, and founder and president of Tech Skills Transformations LLC. I've been working with and presenting at NFJS events for many years now and it is always exciting and interesting.

Through my decades in programming and management,I've always tried to make time to learn and develop both technical and leadership skills and share them with others Regardless of the topic or technology, my belief is that there is no substitute for the excitement and sense of potential that come from providing others with the knowledge they need to help them accomplish their goals.

In my spare time, I hang out with my wife Anne-Marie, 4 children and 2 small dogs in Cary, North Carolina where I design and conduct trainings and write books. You can find me on LinkedIn (linkedin.com/in/brentlaster), Twitter (@brentclaster) or through my company's website at www.getskillsnow.com.

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