workflow-enforcer-skill

What this skill does

<objective>
Enforce workflow discipline across all projects by ensuring Claude checks for specialized agents before responding, announces skill/agent usage, and creates TodoWrite todos for multi-step tasks. This skill activates automatically on every session to maintain consistent quality and tool utilization.
</objective>

<quick_start>
**Before responding to ANY request:**

1. **Check for agent**: Is there a specialized agent for this task?
2. **Announce**: "I'm using [agent] to [action]"
3. **Create todos**: Use TodoWrite for multi-step work
4. **Track**: Mark `in_progress` → `completed`

| Request | Agent |
|---------|-------|
| Fix bug | `debugging-toolkit:debugger` |
| Review code | `code-documentation:code-reviewer` |
| Write tests | `unit-testing:test-automator` |
</quick_start>

<success_criteria>
Workflow enforcement is successful when:
- Specialized agent identified and used for every applicable task
- Agent usage announced before starting work
- TodoWrite used for all multi-step tasks (3+ steps)
- Progress tracked with in_progress and completed statuses
- No rationalizations for skipping agents ("it's simple", "just a quick fix")
</success_criteria>

<mandatory_protocol>
Before responding to ANY user request, complete this checklist:

1. **Check for specialized agent** - Is there an agent for this task type?
2. **Announce usage** - "I'm using [agent] to [action]"
3. **Create todos/tasks** - Use TaskCreate (preferred) or TodoWrite for multi-step work
4. **Track progress** - Mark in_progress before starting, completed after finishing

## Quick Reference

| User Request | Agent to Use |
|--------------|--------------|
| Fix bug / error | `debugging-toolkit:debugger` |
| Review code | `code-documentation:code-reviewer` |
| Write tests | `unit-testing:test-automator` |
| Optimize performance | `performance-engineer` |
| Security audit | `security-auditor` |
| Deploy / CI/CD | `deployment-engineer` |
| Write docs | `docs-architect` |
| Refactor code | `legacy-modernizer` |
| Build AI feature | `ai-engineer` |
| Production incident | `incident-responder` |

For the complete 70+ agent catalog, see `reference/agents-catalog.md`.

## How to Use

### Step 1: Identify Task Type

Categorize the request:
- Debugging? → debugging agents
- Code review? → review agents
- Testing? → test automation agents
- Performance? → performance engineers
- Security? → security auditors
- Deployment? → deployment engineers

### Step 2: Announce

Before starting work:
> "I'm using the [agent-name] to [what you're doing]"

**Examples:**
- "I'm using debugging-toolkit:debugger to trace this authentication error"
- "I'm using python-development:python-pro to refactor this async code"

### Step 3: Create Todos / Tasks

For multi-step tasks, use **TaskCreate** (preferred — renders live UI spinners) or **TodoWrite** (fallback):

**TaskCreate (native progress UI):**
1. Break work into specific items
2. Use `TaskCreate({ subject: "...", activeForm: "..." })` for each item
3. Use `TaskUpdate({ taskId, status: "in_progress" })` before starting → shows spinner
4. Use `TaskUpdate({ taskId, status: "completed" })` after finishing → shows checkmark
5. Use `addBlockedBy` for sequential dependencies between tasks

**TodoWrite (simpler, text-based):**
1. Break work into specific items
2. Use TodoWrite to create the list
3. Mark `in_progress` before starting, `completed` after finishing

### Step 4: Follow Agent Discipline

Each agent type has its own methodology:
- **TDD agents** → Write tests first
- **Debugging agents** → Systematic root cause analysis
- **Code review agents** → Follow review checklist
- **Deployment agents** → Follow deployment protocols

## Common Rationalizations to Avoid

If you think any of these, STOP and use the appropriate agent:

- "This is simple, I don't need an agent"
- "Let me just quickly fix this"
- "I can debug this manually"
- "This doesn't need a formal review"
- "I'll skip the test for now"

**The right thought:** "What specialized agent should I use for this task?"

## Guidelines

- This skill applies to EVERY session, EVERY project, EVERY task
- No exceptions, no rationalizations, no shortcuts
- When in doubt, check `reference/agents-catalog.md`

## Emit Outcome Sidecar

As the final step, write to `~/.claude/skill-analytics/last-outcome-workflow-enforcer.json`:
```json
{"ts":"[UTC ISO8601]","skill":"workflow-enforcer","version":"1.0.0","variant":"default",
 "status":"[success|partial|error]","runtime_ms":[estimated ms from start],
 "metrics":{"checks_performed":[n],"agents_recommended":[n],"violations_caught":[n]},
 "error":null,"session_id":"[YYYY-MM-DD]"}
```
Use status "partial" if some stages failed but results were produced. Use "error" only if no output was generated.
</mandatory_protocol>