Collaboration

Collaboration Skill Domain

This skill domain provides behavioral workflows and collaboration patterns that enhance how agents work together, review code, and manage development processes. Unlike domain-specific technical skills (like frontend-design or test-driven-development), these workflows focus on coordination, communication, and process management.

Why Collaboration Skills Are Separate

Collaboration skills are distinguished from domain-specific skills because they:

• Focus on process over implementation - Guide how to work, not what to build
• Apply across all domains - Code review works for frontend, backend, or any code
• Coordinate multi-agent workflows - Manage parallel work and agent dispatch
• Handle behavioral patterns - Address productive tensions and decision-making
• Enhance existing workflows - Layer on top of domain skills for better outcomes

Available Workflows

Code Review Workflows

Request Review (workflows/request-review.md)

• Dispatch code-reviewer subagent to validate implementation against requirements
• Use after completing tasks, implementing features, or before merging
• Catches issues before they cascade into larger problems

Receive Review (workflows/receive-review.md)

• Process code review feedback with technical rigor
• Use when receiving code review feedback, especially if unclear or questionable
• Ensures thoughtful implementation, not blind acceptance

Agent Coordination Workflows

Dispatch Parallel Agents (workflows/dispatch-agents.md)

• Use multiple Claude agents to investigate and fix independent problems concurrently
• Use when facing 3+ independent failures without shared state or dependencies
• Accelerates resolution of unrelated issues

Subagent-Driven Development (workflows/subagent-dev.md)

• Execute implementation plans by dispatching fresh subagents for each task
• Use when executing plans with independent tasks, using review gates between tasks
• Maintains focus and enables parallel progress

Development Process Workflows

Finish Development Branch (workflows/finish-branch.md)

• Complete feature development with structured options for merge, PR, or cleanup
• Use when implementation is complete, tests pass, and ready to integrate
• Provides clear decision framework for branch completion

Preserve Productive Tensions (workflows/preserve-tensions.md)

• Recognize when disagreements reveal valuable context
• Use when oscillating between equally valid approaches with different priorities
• Preserves multiple valid approaches instead of forcing premature resolution

Workflow Selection Guide

When You've Completed Implementation

1. All tests passing, ready to integrate? → Use finish-branch.md
2. Want validation before proceeding? → Use request-review.md
3. Received feedback to process? → Use receive-review.md

When Managing Multiple Tasks

1. Executing a multi-task plan? → Use subagent-dev.md
2. Multiple independent failures? → Use dispatch-agents.md

When Facing Disagreement or Uncertainty

1. Oscillating between valid approaches? → Use preserve-tensions.md
2. Review feedback seems questionable? → Use receive-review.md

Integration with Domain Skills

Collaboration workflows complement domain-specific skills:

• With frontend-design: Request review after implementing UI components
• With test-driven-development: Use subagent-dev to implement test-first workflows
• With any technical work: Finish branch when feature is complete

The collaboration domain provides the "how" of working effectively, while domain skills provide the "what" of technical implementation.

Common Patterns

Feature Development Lifecycle

1. Plan feature implementation
2. Use subagent-dev to execute tasks in parallel
3. Request review after each task completion
4. Receive and process review feedback
5. Finish branch when all work is validated

Parallel Investigation

1. Identify 3+ independent failures
2. Dispatch parallel agents to investigate each
3. Collect findings from all agents
4. Request review of proposed fixes
5. Implement validated solutions

Handling Productive Disagreement

1. Notice oscillation between valid approaches
2. Preserve tensions to capture both perspectives
3. Document trade-offs and priorities
4. Choose approach based on current context
5. Request review to validate decision

Notes

• These workflows can be combined - request review during subagent-dev
• Not all workflows apply to every situation - use judgment
• Collaboration skills enhance but don't replace technical judgment
• When in doubt, requesting review is rarely wrong