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workflow-orchestrator

Included with Lifetime
$97 forever

Dual-team project workflow — Builder + Observer teams, cost tracking, parallel execution, security gates, agent orchestration. Use when: start day, begin session, status check, new feature, build, implement, end day, wrap up, debug, investigate, dual team, observer team, builder team, spawn observers, devil's advocate.

AI Agents

What this skill does


<objective>
Dual-team project workflow system providing Builder + Observer concurrent teams, cost tracking, parallel execution via git worktrees, security gates, and intelligent agent orchestration. Every session runs two teams: Builders ship features fast, Observers watch for drift, debt, and scope creep. Each team has a devil's advocate role. Manages complete development lifecycle from session start to end-of-day with mandatory Observer reports, security sweeps, and context preservation.
</objective>

<quick_start>
**Start session:**
```bash
pwd && git status && git log --oneline -5
cat PROJECT_CONTEXT.md 2>/dev/null
```
→ Auto-spawns Observer team (non-negotiable)

**Feature development:** Contract → Builder Team → Observer monitors → Security gate → Ship

**End session:**
1. Observer final report
2. Security sweep: `gitleaks detect --source .`
3. Update `PROJECT_CONTEXT.md`
4. Log costs to `costs/daily-YYYY-MM-DD.json`
</quick_start>

<success_criteria>
Workflow is successful when:
- Context scan completed at session start
- Observer team spawned and monitoring (non-negotiable)
- Contract defined before any feature implementation
- Observer BLOCKER gate checked before phase transitions
- Security sweep passes before any commits
- Cost tracking updated (daily.json, mtd.json)
- Observer final report generated at end of day
- PROJECT_CONTEXT.md updated at session end
- All security gates passed before shipping
</success_criteria>

<triggers>

- **Session Management:** "start day", "begin session", "what's the status", "end day", "wrap up", "done for today"
- **Feature Development:** "new feature", "build", "implement"
- **Dual-Team:** "dual team", "observer team", "builder team", "spawn observers", "devil's advocate"
- **Debugging:** "debug", "investigate", "why is this broken"
- **Research:** "research", "evaluate", "should we use"

---

## DUAL-TEAM ARCHITECTURE

Every session runs two concurrent teams under the Orchestrator:

```
              ORCHESTRATOR
              ┌────┴────┐
        BUILDER TEAM   OBSERVER TEAM
        (ships fast)   (watches quality)
        ├ Lead Builder  ├ Code Quality (haiku)
        ├ Builder(s)    └ Architecture (sonnet)
        └ Devil's Adv.    └─ (Devil's Advocate)
```

**Observer team is non-negotiable.** It always runs, even for "small" changes.

- **Builders** optimize for velocity — ship features via worktrees or subagents
- **Observers** optimize for correctness — detect drift, debt, gaps, scope creep
- **Devil's advocate** on each team prevents groupthink and blind spots

Observers write findings to `.claude/OBSERVER_*.md` with severity levels:
- 🔴 BLOCKER — stop work, fix immediately
- 🟡 WARNING — fix before merge or log
- 🔵 INFO — backlog

**Deep dive:** See `reference/dual-team-architecture.md`

---

## START DAY

### Pre-Flight Checks
```bash
git status --short | head -5
[ -f package.json ] && [ ! -d node_modules ] && echo "Run npm install"
[ -f requirements.txt ] && [ ! -d .venv ] && echo "Run pip install"
[ -f .env.example ] && [ ! -f .env ] && echo "Copy .env.example to .env"
```

### Context Scan (Mandatory)
```bash
pwd && git status && git log --oneline -5
cat PROJECT_CONTEXT.md 2>/dev/null || echo "No context file"
cat CLAUDE.md 2>/dev/null
cat PLANNING.md 2>/dev/null
```

### Observer Team Spawn (Automatic)
Spawn Observer team concurrent with standup:
- Code Quality Observer (haiku) — tech debt, test gaps, imports
- Architecture Observer (sonnet) — contract drift, scope creep, design violations

```bash
# Detect Native Agent Teams support
if [ "${CLAUDE_CODE_EXPERIMENTAL_AGENT_TEAMS}" = "1" ]; then
  echo "Native Agent Teams enabled — using DAG task system"
  # Use TeamCreate + SendMessage for Observer coordination
else
  echo "Native Agent Teams not enabled — falling back to manual worktree spawn"
  # Use subagent-teams-skill Task tool pattern
fi
```

### Sprint Plan
Include Observer BLOCKER gate in sprint plan — no phase transitions if active BLOCKERs in `.claude/OBSERVER_ALERTS.md`.

### Output Format
```markdown
## Session Start: [PROJECT_NAME]
### Completed (Last Session)
- [x] Task 1
### In Progress
| Task | Branch/Worktree | Status |
|------|-----------------|--------|
| API endpoint | feature/api | 70% |
### Observer Status
- Team: ACTIVE (Code Quality + Architecture)
- Active blockers: 0
### Today's Priority Queue
1. [BUILDER] Feature implementation
2. [OBSERVER] Continuous monitoring
### Cost Context
- Today: $0.00 | MTD: $12.34 | Budget: $100
```

**Deep dive:** See `reference/start-day-protocol.md`

---

## RESEARCH PHASE

**Trigger:** Before ANY feature development involving new frameworks, APIs, or architectural decisions.

### Scan → Evaluate → Decide
1. Check existing solutions in your repos and MCP cookbook
2. Use `research-skill` checklist for framework selection
3. Cost projection before building
4. Create `RESEARCH.md` → `FINDINGS.md` with GO/NO-GO recommendation

⛔ **Gate: Human checkpoint required before proceeding**

**Deep dive:** See `reference/research-workflow.md`

---

## FEATURE DEVELOPMENT

### Phase 0: CONTRACT DEFINITION (Before Code)
```markdown
## Feature Contract: [NAME]
### Endpoints / Interfaces
- POST /api/widgets → { id, name, created_at }
### Scope Boundaries
- IN SCOPE: [list]
- OUT OF SCOPE: [list]
### Observer Checkpoints
- [ ] Architecture Observer approves contract
- [ ] Code Quality Observer runs after each merge
```
⛔ **Gate: Architecture Observer must approve contract before Phase 1**

### Phase 1: BUILDER TEAM SPAWN
```bash
# Option A: Worktree sessions (long tasks, 30+ min)
git worktree add -b feature/api ~/tmp/worktrees/$(basename $(pwd))/api
# Option B: Native Agent Teams (short tasks, <20 min)
# Use TeamCreate + Task tool subagents
# Option C: Hybrid — worktrees for Builders, Task tool for Observers
```

Each builder gets a WORKTREE_TASK.md with:
- Scope boundary (what they CAN and CANNOT touch)
- Contract reference
- Devil's advocate mandate (for one builder per cycle)

### Phase 2: OBSERVER MONITORING (Concurrent)
Observers run parallel to builders on a 5-10 minute loop:
1. Pull latest from builder branches
2. Run 7 drift detection patterns (see `reference/observer-patterns.md`)
3. Write findings to `.claude/OBSERVER_QUALITY.md` and `.claude/OBSERVER_ARCH.md`
4. Escalate BLOCKERs to `.claude/OBSERVER_ALERTS.md`

### Phase 3: SECURITY + QUALITY GATE
```bash
# Security scans
semgrep --config auto .
gitleaks detect --source .
npm audit --audit-level=critical || pip-audit
pytest --cov=src || npm test -- --coverage
```

⛔ **Gate: ALL must pass + no active Observer BLOCKERs**
```python
gate = (
    sast_clean AND
    secrets_found == 0 AND
    critical_vulns == 0 AND
    test_coverage >= 80 AND
    observer_blockers == 0  # NEW: Observer gate
)
```

### Phase 4: SHIP
```bash
git diff main...HEAD
git add . && git commit -m "feat: [description]"
git push
echo '{"feature": "X", "cost": 1.23}' >> costs/by-feature.jsonl
```

**Deep dive:** See `reference/feature-development.md`

---

## DEBUG MODE

**Trigger:** When standard troubleshooting fails or issue is complex.

### Evidence → Hypothesize → Test → Verify
1. **Evidence gathering** — exact error, reproduction steps, expected vs actual
2. **Hypothesis formation** — 3+ hypotheses with evidence for each
3. **Systematic testing** — one variable at a time
4. **Verification** — root cause confirmed before committing fix

### Critical Rules
- ❌ NO DRIVE-BY FIXES — explain WHY before committing
- ❌ NO GUESSING — verify everything
- ✅ Use all tools: MCP servers, web search, extended thinking
- ✅ One variable at a time

**Deep dive:** See `reference/debug-methodology.md`

---

## END DAY

### Phase 1: Observer Final Report (Before Security Sweep)
Observers generate final reports:
- Summary of all findings (resolved + open)
- Metrics: debt items, test coverage delta, contract compliance
- Write to `.claude/OBSERVER_QUALITY.md` and `.claude/OBSERVER_ARCH.md`

⛔ **Gate: Review Observer report before procee

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