delegation-patterns · diff
git:20260526.80df5e6 to git:20260528.67ddbec
63 added, 3 removed. Audit A to A.
---
name: delegation-patterns
- description: "Subagent/team delegation workflow. Use when splitting work across pi-crew teams, direct agents, async background workers, chains, or parallel tasks. Triggers: delegate this, split this task, parallelize, dispatch workers, assign to team, spawn agents."
- ---
+ description: "\"Subagent/team delegation workflow. Use when splitting work across pi-crew teams, direct agents, async background workers, chains, or parallel tasks. Triggers: delegate this, split this task, parallelize, dispatch workers, assign to team, spawn agents.\""
+ ---
# delegation-patterns
Use this skill when deciding how to delegate work.
## Source patterns distilled
- pi-subagents: foreground/background/parallel/chain execution, fork/fresh context, worktree isolation, result watcher
- pi-crew: `src/extension/team-tool/run.ts`, `src/runtime/team-runner.ts`, `src/runtime/task-graph-scheduler.ts`, builtin `teams/*.team.md`, `workflows/*.workflow.md`
- Existing pi-crew skill: `task-packet`
## Rules
- Delegate when tasks span multiple files/subsystems, need planning/review/verification, or can be independently researched.
- Do not parallelize edits to the same file, symbol, migration path, manifest/lockfile, or generated schema unless explicitly sequenced.
- Use read-only explorer/reviewer roles for source audit; implementation workers should receive narrow task packets.
- For async/background work, provide concrete objective, scope, constraints, outputs, and verification. Do not spin in wait loops; retrieve results when notified or when needed.
- For chain-style work, pass dependency outputs forward explicitly and require downstream workers to read upstream artifacts first.
- Use worktree isolation for risky parallel code-changing tasks when repository cleanliness and merge plan allow it.
- Require workers to report blockers and smallest recoverable next action rather than making broad assumptions.
+ ## Escalation Matrix (from SOC operations)
+
+ Define severity tiers and escalation paths for team tasks:
+
+ ```yaml
+ escalation:
+ tiers:
+ - level: P1
+ name: Critical
+ sla_response: 15m
+ sla_resolution: 1h
+ owner: lead
+ notify: [manager, stakeholders]
+ criteria: [data_loss, security_breach, complete_outage, customer_facing]
+ - level: P2
+ name: High
+ sla_response: 1h
+ sla_resolution: 4h
+ owner: senior_dev
+ notify: [lead]
+ criteria: [partial_outage, significant_bug, regression]
+ - level: P3
+ name: Medium
+ sla_response: 4h
+ sla_resolution: 24h
+ owner: mid_dev
+ notify: [team]
+ criteria: [minor_bug, feature_break, ux_issue]
+ - level: P4
+ name: Low
+ sla_response: 24h
+ sla_resolution: 1w
+ owner: junior_dev
+ notify: []
+ criteria: [enhancement, low_priority, tech_debt]
+ escalation_path: [P4 → P3 → P2 → P1]
+ override_conditions: [security, data_loss, customer_facing]
+ ```
+
+ ### Escalation Rules
+
+ 1. **Escalate up** when: task exceeds SLA, blocker unresolved, scope change required
+ 2. **Override** for: security incidents (skip P4/P3), data loss (immediate P1)
+ 3. **Notify** at each tier: owner first, then notify list
+ 4. **Document** every escalation with reason and timestamp
+
## Task packet checklist
- objective
- scope/paths
- allowed edits vs read-only areas
- constraints and project rules
- dependencies/input artifacts
- expected output artifacts
- acceptance criteria
- verification commands
- escalation conditions
+ - severity/tier (P1-P4)
+ - response SLA
+ ## Enforcement — Delegation Patterns Gate
+
+ **Before delegating work to workers, verify:**
+
+ - [ ] Task packet is complete (objective, scope, constraints, verification, escalation)
+ - [ ] File ownership is explicit (no two workers touch the same file)
+ - [ ] Parallel tasks have independent/s disjoint file scope
+ - [ ] Async workers have concrete objectives with notification paths (not polling loops)
+ - [ ] Severity/tier (P1-P4) and SLA assigned
+
+ If ANY answer is NO → Stop. Complete the task packet before dispatching.
+
## Anti-patterns
- - Sending broad “fix everything” prompts to multiple editors in one workspace.
+ - Sending broad "fix everything" prompts to multiple editors in one workspace.
- Waiting for async workers by sleeping/polling when result notifications exist.
- Letting review workers modify files.
- Claiming completion without durable artifacts or verification evidence.
## Verification
For orchestration changes:
```bash
cd pi-crew
npx tsc --noEmit
node --experimental-strip-types --test test/unit/team-recommendation.test.ts test/unit/task-output-context-security.test.ts test/integration/phase3-runtime.test.ts
npm test
```