Delegation Workflow

Delegation Workflow

When to Use

Use this skill when you need to coordinate work across multiple agents, assign tasks, and ensure they are completed.

Procedure

1. Discover Team Members

echo "=== Team Discovery ==="

# List all agent users in the agents group
AGENTS=$(getent group agents 2>/dev/null | cut -d: -f4 | tr ',' '\n')

for agent in $AGENTS; do
  [ -z "$agent" ] && continue
  ROLE=$(getent passwd "$agent" 2>/dev/null | cut -d: -f5)
  HOME_DIR=$(getent passwd "$agent" 2>/dev/null | cut -d: -f6)

  echo "Agent: $agent"
  echo "  Role: $ROLE"
  echo "  Home: $HOME_DIR"

  # Check if agent is alive (recent heartbeat)
  HEARTBEAT_FILE="$HOME_DIR/.heartbeat"
  if [ -f "$HEARTBEAT_FILE" ]; then
    LAST_BEAT=$(cat "$HEARTBEAT_FILE" 2>/dev/null)
    echo "  Last heartbeat: $LAST_BEAT"
  else
    echo "  Last heartbeat: unknown"
  fi

  # Check agent's current task load
  CURRENT_TASKS=$(bash /home/shared/scripts/task.sh list --owner "$agent" --status in_progress 2>/dev/null | jq 'length' 2>/dev/null || echo "unknown")
  echo "  Active tasks: $CURRENT_TASKS"
  echo ""
done

2. Record Team in MEMORY.md

cat >> ~/MEMORY.md <<EOF

## Team Roster ($(date +%Y-%m-%d))
$(for agent in $AGENTS; do
  [ -z "$agent" ] && continue
  ROLE=$(getent passwd "$agent" 2>/dev/null | cut -d: -f5)
  echo "- **$agent**: $ROLE"
done)
EOF

3. Assess Task Fit

Match tasks to agents based on their role:

4. Delegate via Mail

Send a clear delegation message to the assigned agent:

AGENT="coder"
TASK_SUBJECT="Implement input validation for task.sh"

# Create the task on the board first
TASK_ID=$(bash /home/shared/scripts/task.sh add \
  --subject "$TASK_SUBJECT" \
  --description "Add argument validation to task.sh add command. Validate: task ID format (alphanumeric+hyphens), subject not empty, status is one of pending/in_progress/completed/failed." \
  --owner "$AGENT" \
  --depends "" 2>/dev/null | jq -r '.id' 2>/dev/null)

echo "Created task: $TASK_ID"

# Send mail with clear instructions
mail -s "Task assigned: $TASK_SUBJECT" "$AGENT" <<EOF
You have been assigned task $TASK_ID.

## What to Do
Add argument validation to the task.sh add command.

## Input
- Source file: /home/shared/scripts/task.sh
- Spec: task IDs must be alphanumeric+hyphens, subject must not be empty, status must be one of pending/in_progress/completed/failed

## Output
- Modified /home/shared/scripts/task.sh with validation added
- Tests passing
- Update task status when complete: bash /home/shared/scripts/task.sh update $TASK_ID --status completed --result "description of what was done"

## Priority
Normal — complete when current work allows.
EOF

echo "Delegation sent to: $AGENT"

5. Track Progress

Set up tracking in your TODO.md:

cat >> ~/TODO.md <<EOF

## Delegated Tasks

| Task ID | Subject | Owner | Status | Delegated | Notes |
|---------|---------|-------|--------|-----------|-------|
| $TASK_ID | $TASK_SUBJECT | $AGENT | pending | $(date +%Y-%m-%d) | |
EOF

6. Follow Up

Periodically check on delegated tasks:

echo "=== Task Status Check ==="

# Check all tasks you own or delegated
bash /home/shared/scripts/task.sh list 2>/dev/null | jq '
  .[] | select(.status != "completed") |
  {id: .id, subject: .subject, owner: .owner, status: .status}
' 2>/dev/null

echo ""
echo "=== Agent Mail Check ==="
# Check if agents have sent replies (Maildir format)
mail -f ~/Maildir -H 2>/dev/null | tail -20

echo ""
echo "=== Stalled Tasks ==="
# Find tasks that have been in_progress too long
bash /home/shared/scripts/task.sh list --status in_progress 2>/dev/null | jq '
  .[] | select(.updated_at) |
  {id: .id, subject: .subject, owner: .owner, updated: .updated_at}
' 2>/dev/null

7. Handle Blocked or Failed Tasks

# If a task is stuck, send a follow-up
STUCK_TASK_ID="T-001"
STUCK_AGENT="coder"

mail -s "Follow-up: task $STUCK_TASK_ID status?" "$STUCK_AGENT" <<EOF
Checking in on task $STUCK_TASK_ID.

Are you blocked? If so, please reply with:
1. What you have completed so far
2. What is blocking you
3. What you need to unblock

If you need the task reassigned, reply with "reassign" and the reason.
EOF

8. Reassign if Needed

OLD_AGENT="coder"
NEW_AGENT="devops"
TASK_ID="T-001"

bash /home/shared/scripts/task.sh update "$TASK_ID" --owner "$NEW_AGENT" 2>/dev/null

mail -s "Task reassigned: $TASK_ID" "$NEW_AGENT" <<EOF
Task $TASK_ID has been reassigned to you from $OLD_AGENT.

Please review the task details:
  bash /home/shared/scripts/task.sh get $TASK_ID

Any partial work is at: [location if known]
EOF

mail -s "Task $TASK_ID reassigned" "$OLD_AGENT" <<EOF
Task $TASK_ID has been reassigned to $NEW_AGENT.
No further action needed from you on this task.
EOF

Quality Checklist

• Team members discovered and roles recorded in MEMORY.md
• Tasks created on the task board with clear subject and description
• Each delegation mail includes: what to do, input location, output location, priority
• TODO.md tracks all delegated tasks
• Follow-up checks run periodically
• Blocked or failed tasks are addressed (unblocked or reassigned)
• Completed tasks are acknowledged