Orchestration Patterns

---
name: orchestration-patterns
description: >
  Agentic orchestration patterns for long-running tasks. Implements
  evidence-based delivery and Simon Willison's agent loop. Use when managing
  multi-step implementation work, coordinating subagents, orchestrating PR
  workflows, or running sessions that need checkpoints and escalation.
  Do NOT use for single-step or trivial tasks.
---

# Orchestration Patterns Skill

> **TEMPLATE**: This skill uses `{{PLACEHOLDER}}` tokens. Replace with your project values before use.

## Purpose

Codify evidence-based delivery and iterative agent loop for orchestrating complex, long-running tasks. These patterns ensure verifiable progress and intelligent escalation.

## When This Skill Applies

- Orchestrating multi-step implementation tasks
- Managing work across multiple subagents
- Running long-running sessions that need checkpoints
- Preparing PRs for merge (mandatory QAS gate)
- Coordinating team handoffs

## Simon Willison's Agent Loop

**Core Philosophy**: "Iterate until success or blocked, then escalate."

```text
1. GOAL DEFINITION
   - Clear acceptance criteria (from BSA/ticket)

2. PATTERN DISCOVERY
   - Search codebase, docs, previous sessions
   - Use: pattern-discovery skill (auto-invoked)

3. ITERATIVE EXECUTION LOOP:
   +---------------------------------------------+
   |  Implement approach                         |
   |       |                                     |
   |  Run validation ({{CI_VALIDATE_COMMAND}})   |
   |       |                                     |
   |  If PASS -> proceed to evidence             |
   |  If FAIL -> analyze error, adjust, repeat   |
   |  If BLOCKED -> escalate to TDM with context |
   +---------------------------------------------+

4. EVIDENCE ATTACHMENT
   - Attach proof to ticket system (see templates below)

5. QAS GATE (MANDATORY before merge)
   - Invoke QAS subagent for independent review
```

## Evidence-Based Delivery

**Core Principle**: "All work requires verifiable evidence - no 'trust me, it works'"

### Evidence Types

| Type           | What It Proves             | Example                       |
| -------------- | -------------------------- | ----------------------------- |
| Test Results   | Code works as expected     | `{{CI_VALIDATE_COMMAND}}` output |
| Screenshots    | UI changes are correct     | Before/after comparison       |
| Command Output | Operations completed       | Build logs, migration logs    |
| QAS Report     | Independent verification   | QA validation markdown        |
| Session ID     | Full audit trail available | Agent session reference       |

### Phase Evidence Requirements

| Phase       | Evidence Required              | Template               |
| ----------- | ------------------------------ | ---------------------- |
| **Dev**     | Test results, command output   | Dev Evidence Template  |
| **Staging** | UAT validation or N/A + reason | Staging Template       |
| **Done**    | QAS report, merge confirmation | Done Evidence Template |

## QAS Pre-Merge Gate

**MANDATORY**: Before merging any PR, invoke QAS for independent review.

### Why QAS Gate Matters

1. **Separation of Concerns**: QAS validates but does not write product code
2. **Independent Verification**: Catches what implementer missed
3. **Bias Prevention**: Fresh eyes on commit messages, patterns
4. **Evidence in Tickets**: QAS posts final evidence and verdict to ticket system

### QAS Invocation Pattern

```text
Prompt: "Review PR #XXX for {{TICKET_PREFIX}}-YYY. Validate:
  - Commit message format (ticket in subject line)
  - Code patterns (RLS, naming, structure)
  - CI status (all checks passing)
  - Evidence attachments in ticket system
  Generate validation report to docs/agent-outputs/qa-validations/"
```

### QAS Output Location

All QAS reports go to: `docs/agent-outputs/qa-validations/{{TICKET_PREFIX}}-{number}-qa-validation.md`

## Escalation Patterns

### When to Escalate

| Condition              | Escalate To | Include                     |
| ---------------------- | ----------- | --------------------------- |
| Blocked > 4 hours      | TDM         | Full context, attempts made |
| Architecture ambiguity | ARCHitect   | Options, trade-offs         |
| Cross-team dependency  | TDM         | Which teams, what's blocked |
| Security concern       | SecEng      | Specific risk, evidence     |

### Escalation Template

```markdown
**Escalation Required**

**Blocked On**: [specific blocker]
**Attempts Made**:
1. [what you tried]
2. [what you tried]

**Context**:
- Ticket: {{TICKET_PREFIX}}-XXX
- Time blocked: X hours

**Request**: [specific ask - what do you need?]
```

## Long-Running Task Checkpoints

For tasks spanning multiple tool calls or sessions:

### Checkpoint Pattern

```text
Every 10-15 tool calls:
1. Update todo list with current progress
2. If nearing context limit, summarize state
3. If handoff needed, provide continuation context

At session boundaries:
1. Summarize completed work
2. List remaining items
3. Document any blockers
4. Attach evidence to ticket
```

### State Preservation

```markdown
**Session Checkpoint**

**Completed**:
- [x] Task 1
- [x] Task 2

**In Progress**:
- [ ] Task 3 (at step X)

**Remaining**:
- [ ] Task 4
- [ ] Task 5

**Blockers**: [if any]

**Next Action**: [specific next step]
```

## Orchestration Workflow Example

```text
1. Start work on {{TICKET_PREFIX}}-XXX
   - Syncs to dev, creates branch, sets context

2. Pattern discovery (skill auto-invokes)
   - Finds relevant patterns before implementation

3. Implementation with agent loop
   - Implement
   - Validate ({{CI_VALIDATE_COMMAND}})
   - Adjust if needed
   - Repeat until passing

4. Pre-PR validation
   - Full validation checklist

5. Create PR with evidence

6. QAS GATE (MANDATORY)
   - Invoke QAS subagent for review
   - Fix any blocking issues
   - Commit QAS report

7. Merge (only after QAS approval)

8. End work
   - Updates ticket, cleans up
```

## Anti-Patterns to Avoid

| Anti-Pattern             | Why It's Bad                | Do This Instead               |
| ------------------------ | --------------------------- | ----------------------------- |
| Skip QAS review          | Miss commit message issues  | Always invoke QAS pre-merge   |
| No evidence in tickets   | No audit trail              | Attach evidence every phase   |
| Ignore CI failures       | Broken code reaches dev     | Fix in agent loop, don't skip |
| Force-push without check | May lose teammate's changes | Use --force-with-lease        |
| Continue when blocked    | Waste time, no progress     | Escalate with context         |

## Authoritative References

- **AGENTS.md**: Agent roles and orchestration model
- **Agent Workflow SOP**: `docs/sop/AGENT_WORKFLOW_SOP.md`
- **CONTRIBUTING.md**: Workflow requirements
- **linear-sop skill**: Evidence templates for ticket system