Multi-Agent Workforce Planner

Design parallel agent workstreams for large feature implementations by analyzing dependencies, assigning specialized agents, and maximizing parallelization.

When to Use

• Breaking down large features into parallel work
• Planning multi-file implementations
• Coordinating specialized agent types
• Maximizing development throughput
• Managing complex dependency chains

Core Framework

Feature Spec → Requirements → Dependency Graph → Parallel Streams → Agent Assignment
     ↓              ↓               ↓                  ↓                  ↓
   Input        Breakdown       Identify           Group into        Match to
   Document     into tasks      blockers           workstreams       agent types

Task Granularity

Level	Description	Typical Scope
Epic	Large feature area	Days to weeks
Workstream	Parallelizable track	Hours to days
Task	Single work unit	30min - 2 hours
Subtask	Atomic action	5-30 minutes

Agent Type Catalog

Agent	Specialization	Best For
Explore	Read-only analysis	Finding files, understanding patterns, codebase research
Plan	Architecture design	System design, dependency analysis, implementation planning
Bash	Command execution	Tests, builds, git operations, file system commands
Edit	File modifications	Implementation, refactoring, code changes

Agent Selection Rules

Need to understand code? → Explore
Need to design solution? → Plan
Need to run commands?   → Bash
Need to modify files?   → Edit

Planning Process

Step 1: Decompose Requirements

Break the feature into discrete tasks:

feature: "User Authentication System"
tasks:
  - id: T1
    name: "Research existing auth patterns"
    type: research
    agent: Explore

  - id: T2
    name: "Design auth architecture"
    type: design
    agent: Plan
    depends_on: [T1]

  - id: T3
    name: "Implement User model"
    type: implementation
    agent: Edit
    depends_on: [T2]

  - id: T4
    name: "Implement auth middleware"
    type: implementation
    agent: Edit
    depends_on: [T2]

  - id: T5
    name: "Write auth tests"
    type: testing
    agent: Edit
    depends_on: [T3, T4]

  - id: T6
    name: "Run test suite"
    type: verification
    agent: Bash
    depends_on: [T5]

Step 2: Build Dependency Graph

graph TD
    T1[Research patterns] --> T2[Design architecture]
    T2 --> T3[Implement User model]
    T2 --> T4[Implement middleware]
    T3 --> T5[Write tests]
    T4 --> T5
    T5 --> T6[Run tests]

Step 3: Identify Parallel Opportunities

Tasks without dependencies between them can run in parallel:

Phase 1: T1 (solo - must complete first)
Phase 2: T2 (solo - design phase)
Phase 3: T3, T4 (parallel - independent implementations)
Phase 4: T5 (solo - needs both implementations)
Phase 5: T6 (solo - verification)

Step 4: Create Workstreams

Group related tasks into workstreams:

workstreams:
  - name: "Core Auth"
    tasks: [T3, part of T5]
    owner: agent-1

  - name: "Middleware"
    tasks: [T4, part of T5]
    owner: agent-2

Parallelization Strategies

Horizontal Parallelization

Multiple independent features simultaneously:

Feature A ─────────────────────>
Feature B ─────────────────────>
Feature C ─────────────────────>

Vertical Parallelization

Different layers of same feature:

Frontend  ─────────────>
Backend   ─────────────>
Database  ─────────────>
Tests     ─────────────>

Interface-First Parallelization

Define contracts, implement in parallel:

1. Define interfaces/types (blocking)
2. Implement producer and consumer in parallel

phase1:
  - task: "Define API contract"
    agent: Plan
    blocking: true

phase2_parallel:
  - task: "Implement API server"
    agent: Edit
  - task: "Implement API client"
    agent: Edit

Speculative Parallelization

Start likely-needed work early:

main_path:
  - task: "Implement feature"
    agent: Edit

speculative:
  - task: "Prepare test fixtures"
    agent: Edit
    confidence: high  # Will definitely be needed
  - task: "Draft documentation"
    agent: Edit
    confidence: medium  # Might need revision

Progress Tracking

Status Format

Workstream A: [████████░░] 80% (8/10 tasks)
  └─ Blocked: Waiting on API contract from B

Workstream B: [██████████] 100% ✓

Workstream C: [████░░░░░░] 40%
  └─ At Risk: Task 7 failed twice

Task States

State	Symbol	Meaning
Pending	○	Not started
In Progress	◐	Currently executing
Completed	●	Successfully finished
Blocked	⊘	Waiting on dependency
Failed	✗	Needs intervention
Skipped	⊖	Intentionally skipped

Progress Table

| Task | Agent | Status | Blocked By | Notes |
|------|-------|--------|------------|-------|
| T1   | Explore | ● | - | Completed |
| T2   | Plan    | ● | - | Completed |
| T3   | Edit    | ◐ | - | In progress |
| T4   | Edit    | ◐ | - | In progress |
| T5   | Edit    | ○ | T3, T4 | Waiting |
| T6   | Bash    | ○ | T5 | Waiting |

Failure Recovery

Retry Strategy

retry_policy:
  max_attempts: 3
  backoff: exponential
  base_delay: 30s

on_failure:
  - log_error
  - notify_supervisor
  - attempt_recovery
  - escalate_if_exhausted

Recovery Patterns

1. Retry: Same agent, same task
2. Reassign: Different agent, same task
3. Decompose: Break task into smaller subtasks
4. Skip: Mark as skipped, continue with downstream
5. Escalate: Human intervention required

Checkpoint Strategy

checkpoints:
  - after: phase1
    save: ["contracts", "interfaces"]

  - after: phase2
    save: ["implementations"]
    validate: ["types_match", "tests_pass"]

Workstream Template

workstream:
  name: "Feature Name"
  id: WS-001
  owner: agent-type

  objectives:
    - "Primary goal"
    - "Secondary goal"

  tasks:
    - id: T1
      name: "Task description"
      agent: Explore
      estimated: 15min

    - id: T2
      name: "Next task"
      agent: Edit
      depends_on: [T1]
      estimated: 30min

  success_criteria:
    - "All tests pass"
    - "No type errors"

  risks:
    - risk: "Complex integration"
      mitigation: "Early interface definition"

Example: Full Feature Breakdown

Feature: Add User Profile Editing

epic:
  name: "User Profile Editing"

workstreams:
  - name: "Backend API"
    tasks:
      - {id: B1, name: "Research current user model", agent: Explore}
      - {id: B2, name: "Design profile update endpoint", agent: Plan, depends_on: [B1]}
      - {id: B3, name: "Implement PUT /users/:id/profile", agent: Edit, depends_on: [B2]}
      - {id: B4, name: "Add validation middleware", agent: Edit, depends_on: [B2]}
      - {id: B5, name: "Write API tests", agent: Edit, depends_on: [B3, B4]}

  - name: "Frontend UI"
    tasks:
      - {id: F1, name: "Research existing form patterns", agent: Explore}
      - {id: F2, name: "Design ProfileEdit component", agent: Plan, depends_on: [F1]}
      - {id: F3, name: "Implement form component", agent: Edit, depends_on: [F2]}
      - {id: F4, name: "Add form validation", agent: Edit, depends_on: [F3]}
      - {id: F5, name: "Write component tests", agent: Edit, depends_on: [F4]}

  - name: "Integration"
    tasks:
      - {id: I1, name: "Connect frontend to API", agent: Edit, depends_on: [B3, F3]}
      - {id: I2, name: "Write E2E tests", agent: Edit, depends_on: [I1]}
      - {id: I3, name: "Run full test suite", agent: Bash, depends_on: [B5, F5, I2]}

parallel_execution:
  phase1: [B1, F1]  # Research in parallel
  phase2: [B2, F2]  # Design in parallel
  phase3: [B3, B4, F3]  # Implementation
  phase4: [F4, B5]  # Validation + tests
  phase5: [F5, I1]  # More tests + integration
  phase6: [I2]
  phase7: [I3]

References

• references/dependency-analysis.md — Identifying task dependencies
• references/parallelization-strategies.md — Maximizing parallel work
• references/agent-type-catalog.md — Agent capabilities reference
• references/failure-recovery-patterns.md — Handling failures
• references/workflow-integration.md — Ecosystem integration

Related Skills

• product-requirements-designer: For creating feature specifications
• verification-loop: For validating completed work
• deployment-cicd: For deployment after implementation