Delegation Under Test: Specification-Based Conformance Testing Across the LLM-Framework Boundary

Language models operate within software systems whose frameworks maintain state, execute actions, and sometimes compensate for model errors. System success does not establish which requirements the model fulfills; aggregate scores can also conceal lost behavior after an inference change. We introduce Delegation Under Test (DUT), a specification-based method that turns fixed system requirements and responsibility allocations into component obligations and matched tests. Designers choose the contract and case support; executable specifications derive required actions, timing, and startup sets. Stage-specific scoring retains attributable violations and uses aligned evidence for downstream comparisons and regression judgments. We study state exposure and task startup assignment on a structurally selected suite. Passing explicit-state tests can coexist with phase and prerequisite failures when history is present. A correct business-level WAIT can violate model-assigned startup, and correct, aligned startup can precede different downstream timing. A crossed control changes the interpretation of a negative full-interface state-supply contrast; even nonnegative contrasts lose previously passing obligations. Repeated format comparisons exchange passing identities at unchanged totals, and a device change with weights and partitioning fixed also changes conformance. The construction and findings distinguish local correctness, assigned-role fulfillment, and preservation of behavior an application relies on.