agentic-orchestration

Agentic Orchestration Patterns

This skill covers patterns for coordinating multiple AI agents, decomposing complex tasks, managing handoffs, and building robust agent workflows.

Trigger Boundaries

• Activate when: Designing multi-agent topologies (Conductor, Pipeline, Swarm, Blackboard), defining structured handoff packets between Maker and Independent Verifier agents, isolating write lanes across git worktrees, or enforcing context-compression boundaries.
• Do NOT activate when: Executing a single-file bug fix, a deterministic rename, or a task a single agent can complete in one context window (hybrid_orchestrator_first rule: never escalate to a swarm just to make a simple task look autonomous).

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Orchestration Fundamentals

Agent Hierarchy Model

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│              ORCHESTRATOR AGENT                      │
│  (Strategic coordination, task routing, synthesis)   │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                                                      │
│  ┌──────────────┐  ┌──────────────┐  ┌────────────┐ │
│  │  Specialist  │  │  Specialist  │  │ Specialist │ │
│  │   Agent A    │  │   Agent B    │  │  Agent C   │ │
│  │  (Domain 1)  │  │  (Domain 2)  │  │ (Domain 3) │ │
│  └──────────────┘  └──────────────┘  └────────────┘ │
│                                                      │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Core Principles

1. Single Responsibility: Each agent has one clear domain
2. Explicit Handoffs: Clear protocols for transferring work
3. Context Preservation: State travels with the task
4. Graceful Degradation: System works if agents fail
5. Observable Execution: Can see what each agent is doing

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Task Decomposition Patterns

Pattern 1: Hierarchical Decomposition

Complex Task: "Build a feature for user authentication"

Decomposed:
├── Research Phase (Research Agent)
│   ├── Analyze existing auth patterns in codebase
│   ├── Identify dependencies and constraints
│   └── Document findings
│
├── Design Phase (Architect Agent)
│   ├── Design auth flow
│   ├── Define API contracts
│   └── Create component structure
│
├── Implementation Phase (Developer Agent)
│   ├── Implement backend auth logic
│   ├── Build frontend components
│   └── Add error handling
│
├── Testing Phase (QA Agent)
│   ├── Write unit tests
│   ├── Integration tests
│   └── Security review
│
└── Documentation Phase (Docs Agent)
    ├── API documentation
    ├── User guide
    └── Developer notes