Wave Pack Planner

/wave-pack-planner — Cluster-then-Spawn Methodology

Group các disjoint tasks (gaps) thành wave-pack rồi spawn 3-5 worktree-isolated agents parallel. Đóng nhiều tasks trong 1 session, không serial PR queue.

Portability note: Đây là portable template. Adapt {project} placeholders. Nếu project dùng gap pipeline (gap-architecture-v2.md + gap-done-discipline.md + documents/04-quality/gaps/gap-status.csv) thì các bước gap-based áp dụng nguyên; nếu không, thay "gap" bằng "task/issue" của project và bỏ các bước CSV/gap-status.

When to use

• Sau session-start báo "Wave-eligible: YES" (≥3 sub-tasks/gaps disjoint)
• Khi backlog có ≥5 tasks cùng theme (Observability, Admin, Frontend bundle, cleanup batch...)
• Trước khi "pick 1 task rồi serial" — luôn check cluster-eligible trước

When NOT to use

• 1-2 tasks độc lập (overhead wave plan > save time)
• Tasks share migration version slot (V_n collide khi parallel)
• Tasks share single config file / single service file (rebase sequential)
• Foundation chưa ship (cần PR-0 trước)

Process (5 steps, ~30-45 min planning + spawn)

Step 1 — Identify candidate cluster (5 min)

Nếu project có gap backlog: đọc backlog/ROADMAP §"Active wave queue (clustered)". Cluster định sẵn → chọn cluster đầu queue. Nếu không có:

• Grep tasks cùng theme (vd Grep pattern="Domain.*<theme>" path="documents/04-quality/gaps/")
• Output: 3-7 task IDs candidate

Step 2 — File overlap analysis (10 min)

./scripts/analyze-overlap.sh GAP-117 GAP-118 GAP-119

Script parse "Files" / "Affects" / "Proposed Fix" sections → output matrix:

Decision rule: ≥1 HARD conflict → either re-bucket tasks OR ship foundation PR first to defuse. Đọc reference/file-overlap-algorithm.md cho edge cases.

Step 3 — Bucket assignment (5 min)

Mỗi disjoint subset → 1 agent. Choose agent template:

• Pure markdown/runbook task → assets/agents/docs-only-agent.md
• Skeleton-only doc cluster (sections + TODO markers, no content) → assets/agents/docs-only-skeleton-agent.md
• Backfill tests/fixtures → assets/agents/test-only-agent.md
• Dead code/unused/cleanup → assets/agents/p3-cleanup-agent.md
• Code change with TDD → assets/agents/feature-tdd-agent.md

Wave plan tự viết bằng assets/agents/wave-coordinator-agent.md runbook.

Step 4 — Foundation PR (10 min)

Tạo wave plan markdown (vd documents/03-planning/waves/wave-{date}-{theme}.md). Dùng reference/wave-plan-template.md.

Nếu project có wave-plan validator (vd scripts/check-wave-plan-completeness.sh + canonical _TEMPLATE.md): wave plan PHẢI có đầy đủ numbered sections + frontmatter fields để pass validator — kể cả minimal stub cho next-session scope. Chạy validator local trước commit:

bash scripts/check-wave-plan-completeness.sh --paths documents/03-planning/waves/<file>.md

Ship qua PR (PR-first — wave plan ship qua PR trước khi spawn agents, không direct-push main).

Cập nhật backlog/ROADMAP: thêm cluster vào §"Active wave queue", mark IN_PROGRESS.

Step 4.5 — Cross-layer check (api-contract first) — BẮT BUỘC

Per .claude/rules/contract-first-for-cross-layer.md — wave plan có FE+BE scope (cross-layer) PHẢI có Bucket 0 Foundation ship API contract (documents/01-business/{domain}/api-contract.md hoặc tương đương) TRƯỚC khi spawn FE bucket.

Decision flow:

1. Wave có cross-layer scope? (per rule §2 definition):
   • ≥1 bucket touch frontend AND ≥1 bucket touch backend → CROSS-LAYER
   • Single bucket touch CẢ FE+BE → CROSS-LAYER
   • FE bucket consume API mà BE bucket cùng wave tạo → CROSS-LAYER
   • FE bucket dùng mock/fixture cho endpoint chưa tồn tại → CROSS-LAYER (contract violation)
2. Nếu CROSS-LAYER:
   • Kiểm tra api-contract đã tồn tại + đủ endpoint? Có → skip foundation. Thiếu → add Bucket 0 Foundation vào §3 Scope FIRST
   • §4 State-Check Evidence: thêm row cho api-contract
   • FE bucket AC: "Endpoint consumption tuân thủ schema trong api-contract (Bucket 0 ship trước)"
   • BE bucket AC: "Controller signature + DTO match api-contract schema"
3. Spawn order: Bucket 0 merge FIRST → THEN FE+BE buckets parallel

Anti-pattern signal: wave plan có FE bucket + BE bucket nhưng KHÔNG có Bucket 0 Foundation row → STOP, add Bucket 0 hoặc justify exception qua commit trailer CONTRACT_FIRST_OVERRIDE: <reason>.

Step 4.55 — Pre-walk simulation (optional, project-dependent)

Nếu project mandate pre-walk persona simulation cho user-facing flow (signup / auth / invite / payment / upload / email-driven), spawn 1 simulation agent return ≥5 failure modes TRƯỚC khi walk live, batch-fix high-confidence findings pre-walk. Add 1 row "Bucket 0 (Pre-walk)" vào §3 Scope khi áp dụng. Skip nếu project không có flow-walk discipline.

Step 4.6 — Model tier calibration (per stake)

Classify wave stake → pick model tier cho parallel agents. Document choice trong wave plan §1 Brainstorm. Calibrate model tier to stake: agent thrash + skip-verification trên multi-file refactor đắt hơn token cost của model cao.

Stake matrix:

Per .claude/rules/agent-model-opus-default.md nếu project mandate Opus default cho non-trivial agents.

Model-agnostic gates (mandatory regardless of tier):

• Verification gate: PR body paste output test command xanh (vd pnpm test --run <new-file> + mvn test -pl <module>)
• AC Coverage table: PR body có table mapping mỗi AC line → file/test/verification
• Anti-pattern grep: PR body confirm grep checks (no console.log, no stray TODO, no scaffold strings)

Anti-pattern signal: wave plan §1 Brainstorm không document model tier choice → reviewer hỏi "stake assessment?" trước approve. Default fallback: Opus full effort (safer than under-spec).

Step 4.7 — Pre-spawn stale-check

BẮT BUỘC (nếu project dùng gap pipeline) sau Step 4.6 và TRƯỚC Step 5 spawn agents. Mục tiêu: catch stale-OPEN gaps có code đã shipped wave trước → flip status inline → tránh waste agent spawn cost.

Trigger: mọi wave plan có gap-IDs trong §3 Scope.

Quy trình (~5-10 min coordinator inline):

1. Batch state-check mỗi gap-ID trong scope:

   for gap in <list GAP-IDs>; do
     csv_row=$(grep "^$gap," documents/04-quality/gaps/gap-status.csv)
     status=$(echo "$csv_row" | awk -F, '{print $4}')
     # grep code paths matching gap scope → if code exists matching all AC, flag potentially stale
   done
   

2. Inline flip stale gaps trước spawn:

   • Status OPEN/PARTIAL nhưng code shipped 100% → flip → DONE per gap-done-discipline.md + move to closed archive
   • Status OPEN/PARTIAL với code shipped một phần → reframe AC + update completion_pct
   • Status OPEN với code chưa shipped → leave; spawn agent will work normally

3. Refine wave scope post-stale-check: nếu N buckets flip stale → giảm spawn count tương ứng. Update §3 Scope table với note "Bucket X removed — GAP-NNN flipped DONE inline per pre-spawn stale-check".

4. Document trong wave plan §4 State-Check Evidence: list mỗi gap state-check finding (DONE inline / PARTIAL reframe / proceed normal).

Anti-pattern: spawn N agents → agent N+1 báo "code đã shipped, gap stale" → coordinator flip inline → waste agent N+1 spawn cost. Pre-spawn check eliminates this.

Worked example (generic): 4/5 buckets state-check tại spawn time phát hiện code đã shipped wave trước. Pre-spawn check sẽ catch 4 stale → only Bucket E (greenfield) cần spawn → save ~30 min × 4 agents wall-clock + agent spawn token cost.

Cross-reference: audit-to-gap-pipeline.md (fix-time state-check — this Step extends to wave-plan-time).

Step 5 — Spawn agents (1 message, multiple Agent calls)

BẮT BUỘC single message với N Agent tool uses parallel. KHÔNG sequential spawn (mất parallel benefit). Spawn background per .claude/rules/agent-background-spawn-default.md.

Agent A: isolation=worktree, run_in_background=true, prompt từ docs-only-agent.md + GAP-XXX context
Agent B: isolation=worktree, run_in_background=true, prompt từ feature-tdd-agent.md + GAP-YYY context
Agent C: isolation=worktree, run_in_background=true, prompt từ docs-only-agent.md + GAP-ZZZ context

Sau khi agents xong → coordinator merge sequential (A → B → C), resolve SOFT conflicts manually, close wave per reference/retrospective-checklist.md.

Step 5.5 — Pipeline next wave plan (during agent wait — eliminate dead-time)

Khi nào: ngay sau Step 5 (agents spawned background), trước khi merge starts.

What: Coordinator KHÔNG idle wait — propose Wave N+1 candidate (2-3 từ backlog/ROADMAP §Next Action) → user pick → draft Wave N+1 plan PR (state-check + brainstorm + scope + bucket allocation). Plan PR is docs-only, low conflict risk.

Constraints:

• Wave N+1 plan PR drafted but NOT merged until Wave N closure ships.
• Skip if coordinator already at high context (per .claude/rules/context-budget-mandate.md).
• Skip if Wave N has high failure risk (untested infra) — finish Wave N + lessons first.
• Skip if user wants to pause between waves — respect pacing.

Khi giảm số agent concurrent (rate-limit), lấp idle bằng inline disjoint bucket song song agent đang chạy — per .claude/rules/agent-concurrency-budget-inline-hybrid.md.

Anti-pattern signal: if coordinator says "agents working background, anything else?" instead of "while agents run, pick Wave N+1?" — pipeline missed.

Skill contents

• SKILL.md — this file (entry point)
• reference/cluster-pattern.md — cluster-then-spawn methodology + decision tree
• reference/file-overlap-algorithm.md — overlap classification + edge cases
• reference/agent-spawning-template.md — how to write isolation:worktree prompts
• reference/retrospective-checklist.md — lessons-learned capture sau wave merge
• reference/wave-plan-template.md — markdown template cho wave plan
• reference/background-loop-fleet.md — documented /loop commands cho doc-sync, p3-sweeper, audit-cadence
• assets/agents/ — 6 agent prompt templates (docs-only, docs-only-skeleton, test-only, p3-cleanup, feature-tdd, wave-coordinator)
• scripts/analyze-overlap.sh — file overlap detector
• data/README.md — schema doc cho append-only wave-history.jsonl

Rules

• Parallel spawn = 1 message, multiple Agent calls. Sequential Agent spawns = anti-pattern (mất parallel benefit)
• Foundation PR phải merge TRƯỚC khi spawn agents — agents branch off main, không off feature branch
• Mỗi agent dùng isolation: "worktree" — không share working dir
• Branch naming: feat/wave-{theme}-gap-{id-slug} — coordinator dễ track
• Coordinator merge sequential (A → B → C) — KHÔNG batch merge (CI race)
• Sau merge, bắt buộc clean worktrees + remote branches (cleanup hygiene — per the parallel-agent strategy)
• Update data/wave-history.jsonl với wall-clock + lessons (data points cho future tuning)

Gotchas

• Worktree cross-contamination: 2 agents sửa cùng 1 file (vd. adr/README.md) trong worktrees riêng → cuối khi merge git stash dance complex. Mitigation: file-overlap analysis (Step 2) phải catch — nếu HARD conflict, re-bucket
• Worktree absolute-path bug: nếu prompt cite absolute paths (/home/.../scripts/foo.sh), agent có thể cd ra khỏi worktree vào main checkout → Write/commits land SAI branch. Mitigation: prompt template (assets/agents/*-agent.md) bắt buộc dùng RELATIVE paths + agent verify pwd | grep worktrees trước Write/commit
• Shared values.yaml / config section: cùng file nhưng different sections → git auto-merge thường OK. Nhưng nếu 1 agent reformats whole file → conflict. Mitigation: agent prompt instruct "chỉ touch section X, đừng reformat file"
• Stale wave plan trong waves/: mtime fallback có thể chỉ vào wave đã ship. Mitigation: backlog/ROADMAP §"Active wave queue" là source of truth, không phải mtime
• Sequential merge timing: nếu Agent A's PR fail CI, đừng skip merge A để merge B trước — sẽ break dependency chain. Mitigation: wave plan ghi rõ merge order + rollback path
• Agent prompt drift: mỗi lần edit template → nhớ bump version + log entry. Otherwise next wave dùng stale template không match real workflow
• Overlapping task closure timing: nếu 2 agents close 2 tasks trong cùng PR description → backlog entry race. Mitigation: 1 PR = 1 task closure, coordinator wave-closure entry batch
• Wall-clock metric noise: wall-clock include user response delay (approve permissions, answer Qs). Đo agent-time riêng nếu cần benchmark thực

Self-test

./scripts/analyze-overlap.sh GAP-121 GAP-143 GAP-144
# Expect output match wave plan "File overlap analysis" section

Nếu output diverge → script bug, fix trước khi dùng skill cho wave mới.

Quality-target wave gate

Khi wave tag/goal chứa quality-target (score suffix như -100, hoặc goal định lượng "rubric ≥N"), plan §5 Verification Gates PHẢI khai báo metric + ngưỡng cụ thể + cam kết fix gaps surfaced trong wave TRƯỚC khi flip status: complete (defer cần user explicit approve). Tên wave là lời hứa — đặt -100 thì closure gate phải tương xứng.

Related

• Rule: .claude/rules/contract-first-for-cross-layer.md (Step 4.5 reference)
• Rule: .claude/rules/agent-background-spawn-default.md (background spawn default)
• Rule: .claude/rules/agent-model-opus-default.md (Step 4.6 model tier)
• Rule: .claude/rules/agent-concurrency-budget-inline-hybrid.md (Step 5.5 inline-hybrid)
• Rule: .claude/rules/gap-done-discipline.md (status-flip discipline at closure)
• Rule: .claude/rules/gap-architecture-v2.md (gap pipeline — if project uses it)
• Rule: .claude/rules/post-wave-audit-mandate.md (post-wave audit cadence)
• Rule: .claude/rules/post-wave-cleanup.md (worktree + branch cleanup)
• Skill: .claude/skills/workflow/start-session (wave-eligibility hint)
• Skill: .claude/skills/core/{brainstorming-methodology,task-breakdown-guide,tdd-enforcement,two-stage-code-review}.md

Log

• v1.0: Skill created (portable kit version). Codifies cluster-then-spawn parallel-agent methodology: group ≥3 disjoint tasks → file-overlap analysis → foundation PR → spawn 3-5 worktree-isolated agents → sequential merge → retrospective. Early adoption demonstrated ~5x wall-clock speedup vs serial PR queue on a 3-task observability cluster — treat as demonstrated, not statistically proven; recalibrate heuristics from data/wave-history.jsonl as data accumulates.