{"id":644,"date":"2026-06-29T18:17:32","date_gmt":"2026-06-29T18:17:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/codingwithramin.com\/?p=644"},"modified":"2026-07-23T08:56:52","modified_gmt":"2026-07-23T08:56:52","slug":"building-a-conversational-work-iq-agent-in-c-the-a2a-sdk-multi-turn-and-streaming","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/codingwithramin.com\/?p=644","title":{"rendered":"Building a Conversational Work IQ Agent in C#: The A2A SDK, Multi-Turn, and Streaming"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Part 2 of a series on building agents with the Microsoft Work IQ API. Part 1<\/a> explained the Work IQ model and made a first grounded call with raw HttpClient.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The raw A2A call in Part 1<\/a> was useful for one reason: it showed exactly what crossed the wire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I could see the Work IQ token audience, the JSON-RPC method, the A2A version header and the response shape. That removed a lot of guesswork.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It also produced code I would not want to maintain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The application built the protocol envelope by hand, parsed JsonDocument <\/strong>nodes by hand and forgot the conversation as soon as the process moved to the next question. The user also saw an empty console while Work IQ assembled the entire answer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That is enough for a protocol experiment. It is not yet a conversational agent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This part fixes three things:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  1. the SDK takes ownership of the A2A protocol;<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. contextId carries the conversation across turns;<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. streaming gives the user progress and answer text as they arrive.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    The conversation-state piece was particularly interesting to me. In the private AI application our team has been building for clients, memory and context have required deliberate design across agents and sessions. Work IQ’s short-term conversational context is much simpler: capture an identifier and send it back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Simple does not mean unimportant. It means the protocol is doing its job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    Version note:<\/strong> This article uses the A2A and MSAL package versions shown below because they match the sample I tested. The A2A SDK was still a preview package when I wrote this, so check NuGet and the current Work IQ samples before upgrading.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

    What the SDK actually improves<\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    I initially expected the A2A SDK to save a few lines of JSON.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    It does that, but the more useful change is conceptual. The code starts talking in terms of messages, tasks, artifacts and status updates instead of dictionaries and property names.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    That makes the boundary clearer:<\/p>\n\n\n\n