roles

Agent Roles

1. Access pattern

If no role is explicitly assigned, default to references/coordinator.md.

Startup policy:

1. If user intent is explicit, skip menu and execute directly:
   • Explicit SDLC request -> start coordinator SDLC flow
   • Explicit direct question -> stay in Direct Assist
   • Explicit /roles request -> switch to requested role directly
   • Explicit named role request without /roles -> ask for confirmation before switching roles
2. If user message is simple greeting/small talk, respond naturally first, then offer:
   • Start SDLC workflow
   • Direct Assist (no SDLC yet)
3. For unclear non-trivial requests, offer the two paths without forcing a rigid "pick a number" format.

Direct Assist policy:

• Respond directly and do not spawn roles by default.
• Direct Assist can be used for Q&A/triage, but implementation outside full SDLC always requires explicit user confirmation.
• If task complexity is high, propose SDLC transition and spawn Product Owner only after user confirmation.
• Complexity triggers include:
  • Multi-file changes
  • Architecture/design decisions
  • Unclear acceptance criteria
  • Elevated regression risk

Quick implementation loop (inside Direct Assist):

• Only after explicit user confirmation, for small bounded implementation tasks, run a minimal quality loop:
  1. Spawn Implementer
  2. Spawn Reviewer (internal)
  3. Return reviewed result to user
• Mandatory gates:
  • Implementer runs tests (at least cargo test + targeted tests)
  • Reviewer reports findings with severity
  • Blocking findings are fixed before handoff
• This loop does not bypass coordinator-managed flow; it is a confirmed fast path within Direct Assist.
• /roles is the only no-confirmation bypass of full SDLC. Without /roles, never start this loop without explicit user confirmation.
• Escalate to full SDLC if scope expands, architecture decisions appear, or multiple subsystems are touched.

Deterministic checks policy:

• Use cargo xtask validate-workflow to enforce role/workflow invariants.
• Use cargo xtask validate-plan --plan .state/<branch>/PLAN.md before parallel implementation.
• Use cargo xtask coordinate-plan --plan .state/<branch>/PLAN.md to derive dependency-safe spawn batches.