Agency Workflow Patterns

Agency Workflow Patterns

Master the art of orchestrating 51+ specialized agents to automate your complete software development lifecycle. This skill teaches you when to use the orchestrator, how to coordinate multiple agents, and patterns for maximum efficiency.

Core Orchestration Principles

When to Use the Orchestrator

Use orchestrator for:

• Multi-step workflows spanning multiple domains
• Complex tasks requiring different specialist expertise
• Tasks where parallel execution provides value
• Workflows needing strategic planning before execution

Use specialist agents directly for:

• Single-domain tasks with clear scope
• Quick focused work (< 30 minutes)
• Tasks where you know exactly which specialist to use

The Orchestration Flow

User Command → Orchestrator → Planning → Specialist Selection → Parallel Execution → Synthesis

1. Intake: Orchestrator classifies request type
2. Planning: Decomposes into discrete, delegatable tasks
3. Selection: Matches tasks to optimal specialists
4. Execution: Spawns agents (parallel when possible)
5. Synthesis: Collects outputs and presents unified results

Common Workflow Patterns

Pattern 1: Investigation & Research

Use Case: Understanding existing code or systems

Flow:

User Question → Orchestrator → Explore Agent → Summary

Example:

• User: "How does authentication work in this codebase?"
• Orchestrator spawns Explore agent
• Explore agent finds relevant files, traces flow
• Returns summary with key file references

Key Insight: Use Explore agent to keep main context clean

Pattern 2: Issue Implementation (Full Cycle)

Use Case: GitHub/Jira issue from start to finish

Flow:

Issue → Fetch Details → Plan → Review Plan → Implement → Test → Review → PR

Agents Involved:

• Orchestrator (coordination)
• Plan agent (planning phase)
• Specialist reviewer (architecture review)
• Specialist coder (implementation)
• Reality Checker (quality verification)

Example Command: /agency:work 123

Checkpoints:

1. After planning (confirm approach)
2. After implementation (verify changes)
3. Before PR creation (final approval)

See Full Issue Implementation Flow for details.

Pattern 3: Parallel Implementation

Use Case: Multiple independent features or bug fixes

Flow:

Identify Parallel Tasks → Spawn Specialists Simultaneously → Integrate Results

Example:

• User: "Implement user dashboard with charts, filters, and export"
• Orchestrator identifies 3 independent tracks:
  • Track A: Frontend Developer → Chart components
  • Track B: Frontend Developer → Filter components
  • Track C: Backend Architect → Export API
• All spawn simultaneously
• Integrate when complete

Benefits:

• 3x faster than sequential
• Specialists work in isolation
• Clean context separation

See Parallel Execution Strategies for details.

Pattern 4: Quality Review Pipeline

Use Case: Comprehensive code review before release

Flow:

Code → Security Review → Quality Review → Performance Review → Test Review → Synthesis

Agents in Parallel:

• Legal Compliance Checker (security)
• Reality Checker (quality & bugs)
• Performance Benchmarker (performance)
• Test Results Analyzer (test coverage)

Example Command: /agency:review

Output: Unified report with all findings

Pattern 5: Sprint Automation

Use Case: Implement entire sprint

Flow:

Fetch Sprint Issues → Prioritize → Find Parallel Work → Execute in Batches → Monitor Progress

Example Command: /agency:gh-sprint

Orchestrator Actions:

1. Fetch all sprint issues
2. Analyze dependencies
3. Group into parallel batches
4. Execute batches sequentially
5. Report progress and blockers

See Sprint Automation Workflow for details.

Agent Selection Guidelines

Engineering Agents

Design Agents

Testing Agents

See Complete Agent Roster for all 51+ agents.

Context Management

Keep Orchestrator Context Lean

Retain:

• Task status (pending/in-progress/complete)
• Output artifact locations (file paths)
• Key decisions made
• Blockers requiring user input

Discard:

• Full file contents from agents
• Implementation details (live in agent outputs)
• Verbose logs and debug output

Target Context Sizes:

• Investigation: < 2K tokens
• Quick Fix: < 1K tokens
• Feature Plan: < 4K tokens
• Full Implementation: < 6K tokens

Why This Matters

Benefits of Lean Context:

• Faster responses
• Lower costs
• Better focus
• Can handle more complex workflows

How to Achieve:

• Use Explore agent for research
• Agents return summaries, not full outputs
• File paths instead of contents
• Key decisions, not reasoning traces

Parallel vs Sequential Execution

When to Execute in Parallel

✅ Parallelize When:

• Tasks are independent (no shared state)
• Different domains/specialists
• No sequential dependencies
• Time-sensitive work

Example: UI components + API endpoints + Database schema

When to Execute Sequentially

⛔ Sequential When:

• Tasks have dependencies (A must finish before B)
• Shared state mutations
• Need output from previous task
• Risk of conflicts

Example: Plan → Review Plan → Implement → Test

See Execution Strategies for decision trees.

Checkpoint Strategy

User Approval Points

Always pause for approval:

• After planning phase (before implementation)
• Before destructive operations (database migrations)
• When ambiguity detected
• When user explicitly requested ("plan only")

Skip approval for:

• Simple fixes (< 20 LOC)
• User said "just do it" or "auto-approve"
• Similar patterns previously approved

Present concisely:

📋 Plan: Dark Mode Implementation

I'll use 4 agents across 3 phases:

Phase 1: Research
└── Explore → Find existing theme patterns

Phase 2: Implementation (Parallel)
├── Frontend Developer → Theme provider + toggle
├── Frontend Developer → Component style updates
└── Backend Architect → User preference API

Phase 3: Verification
└── Reality Checker → Visual regression tests

Checkpoints: After Phase 1 (confirm approach), After Phase 3 (final review)

Approve? (y/auto/modify)

Advanced Patterns

Pattern: Iterative Refinement

Use Case: Complex feature needing multiple refinement cycles

Flow:

Initial Plan → Review → Refine Plan → Implement → Test → Refine → Test → Ship

When to Use: Novel features, unclear requirements, high uncertainty

Pattern: Research-First Implementation

Use Case: Working with unfamiliar codebase or technology

Flow:

Research → Document Findings → Plan → Implement

Research Phase:

• Explore agent finds relevant code
• Documents patterns and conventions
• Identifies dependencies
• Creates knowledge base

Then: Implementation uses research as foundation

Pattern: Specialist Cascade

Use Case: Progressive deepening of expertise

Flow:

Senior Developer (initial) → Specialist (refinement) → Another Specialist (integration)

Example:

1. Senior Developer: Initial implementation
2. Performance Benchmarker: Optimization pass
3. Security Compliance: Security hardening

See Advanced Orchestration for more patterns.

Troubleshooting

Issue: Too Many Context Switches

Symptom: Orchestrator slow, losing track Solution: Reduce parallel agents, increase batch size

Issue: Wrong Agent Selected

Symptom: Agent struggles with task Solution: Review agent selection criteria, may need different specialist

Issue: Workflow Stalled

Symptom: Agent waiting for input, unclear blocking Solution: Check for missing user approval, clarify requirements

See Troubleshooting Guide for common issues.

Best Practices

1. Start with Planning: Always create plan before implementation
2. Use Orchestrator for Complexity: Let orchestrator handle multi-step workflows
3. Parallelize Aggressively: Identify independent work
4. Keep Context Lean: Use agents to isolate work
5. Checkpoint Strategically: Pause for approval at key points
6. Match Agent to Task: Use right specialist for the job
7. Document Decisions: Capture key choices in artifacts
8. Iterate on Feedback: Refine based on results

Quick Reference

Investigation: Explore agent → summary Issue Implementation: /agency:work {number} Sprint Automation: /agency:gh-sprint Code Review: /agency:review Parallel Work: /agency:gh-parallel Planning Only: /agency:plan

Related Skills

• github-workflow-best-practices - GitHub-specific workflows
• code-review-standards - Review criteria and quality gates
• testing-strategy - Testing approaches and standards

Remember: The orchestrator is a strategic coordinator, not an executor. Let specialists do the work while orchestrator manages the big picture.