Parallel Agent Dispatch

Parallel Agent Dispatch

When you have multiple unrelated problems, investigating sequentially wastes time. Dispatch one agent per independent problem domain.

When to Use

• MUST: When 3+ independent failures exist
• MUST: When problems have no shared state
• SHOULD: When each problem can be understood in isolation
• NEVER: When failures might be related (fix one might fix others)
• NEVER: When agents would edit same files

Decision Flow

Multiple failures?
    ↓ yes
Are they independent?
    ↓ yes           → no: Single agent investigates all
Can they work in parallel?
    ↓ yes           → no: Sequential agents
Parallel dispatch

The Pattern

1. Identify Independent Domains

Group failures by what's broken:

• File A tests: User authentication
• File B tests: Order processing
• File C tests: Email notifications

Each domain is independent - fixing auth doesn't affect email.

2. Create Focused Agent Tasks

Each agent gets:

• Specific scope: One test file or subsystem
• Clear goal: Make these tests pass
• Constraints: Don't change other code
• Expected output: Summary of findings and fixes

3. Dispatch in Parallel

// Dispatch all three concurrently
Task("Fix user-auth.test.ts failures")
Task("Fix order-processing.test.ts failures")
Task("Fix email-notifications.test.ts failures")

4. Review and Integrate

When agents return:

1. Read each summary
2. Verify fixes don't conflict
3. Run full test suite
4. Integrate all changes

Agent Prompt Structure

Fix the 3 failing tests in src/auth/user-auth.test.ts:

1. "should validate JWT token" - expects valid token, gets null
2. "should reject expired token" - not rejecting expired
3. "should refresh token" - refresh returns old token

Your task:
1. Read the test file, understand what each test verifies
2. Identify root cause - timing, logic, or configuration?
3. Fix by addressing actual issue (not just making tests pass)

Do NOT increase timeouts - find the real issue.

Return: Summary of root cause and what you fixed.

MUST/SHOULD/NEVER Rules

MUST

• MUST: Verify problems are independent before dispatching
• MUST: Give each agent specific, focused scope
• MUST: Include expected output format in prompt
• MUST: Verify fixes don't conflict after agents return
• MUST: Run full test suite after integration

SHOULD

• SHOULD: Include error messages in agent prompts
• SHOULD: Specify constraints (what NOT to change)
• SHOULD: Request summary of root cause, not just "fixed"

NEVER

• NEVER: Dispatch for related failures
• NEVER: Let agents edit same files
• NEVER: Skip post-integration verification
• NEVER: Use vague prompts ("fix the tests")

Common Mistakes

When NOT to Use

• Related failures: Fix one might fix others
• Need full context: Understanding requires system-wide view
• Exploratory debugging: Don't know what's broken yet
• Shared state: Agents would interfere

Integration

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