team-lead-reference

name	team-lead-reference
description	Provides model routing rules, validates delegation prerequisites, supplies cost tracking templates, defines dead-letter queue formats for Team Lead orchestration. Load when assigning tasks to agents, choosing model tiers, starting delegation session, running multi-agent workflow, delegating work, choosing which model to use, or assigning tasks.

Team Lead Reference

Delegation Sequence

1. Score task complexity (table below) → determines tier
2. Route to model tier via Cost-Aware Routing
3. Deepen plan if 3+ subtasks (Deepen-Plan Protocol)
4. Check pre-delegation policy (5-point checklist below)
5. Delegate using Compact Delegation Envelope
6. Handle output per Status Handling table
7. Log via observability-logging skill

For specialist agent registry, model assignments, see agent-registry.md.

Cost-Aware Model Routing

Tier	Use For
Premium	Team Lead orchestration, highest-stakes decisions
Quality	Feature implementation, UI/frontend, security, architecture, complex reasoning
Standard	Large-scale analysis, schema design, cost-efficient coding, repo exploration
Fast	Terminal-heavy tasks, E2E tests, data pipelines, agentic workflows
Economy	Docs, simple config, formatting, boilerplate

Selection: Default to agent's assigned tier. Downgrade pure docs/config → Economy. Upgrade security/architecture ambiguity → Quality/Premium. Never Premium/Quality for boilerplate. 3+ parallel agents → prefer Economy/Fast/Standard.

Complexity-Based Task Scoring

Factor	Low → High
Files touched	1–2 → 3–5 → 6+ / cross-library
Reasoning depth	Boilerplate → pattern matching → architecture/security/tradeoffs
Ambiguity	Clear spec → some judgment → multiple valid approaches
Risk	Reversible → moderate impact → DB/auth/breaking
Dependencies	None → 1–2 upstream → complex chain

Score	Tier	Examples
1–2	Economy/Fast	Docs update, config tweak, rename, simple test
3–5	Standard/Quality	Component, CMS query, API route, migration
8	Quality	Architecture decision, security audit, complex refactor
13	Quality + Panel	DB migration with data transform, auth flow redesign

Overrides: Blocker (blocking 2+ downstream) → upgrade one tier. Security-touching → Quality+. Pure docs → Economy. Registry default takes precedence unless complexity clearly warrants change.

Deepen-Plan Protocol

Plan Complexity	Action
1–2 subtasks, familiar	Skip — delegate directly
3–5 subtasks, mixed	Quick deepen — single Researcher sub-agent
6+ subtasks, unfamiliar	Full deepen — parallel Researcher sub-agents

Quick deepen: Fire one Researcher for exact file paths & line numbers, patterns to follow (file:line examples), relevant lessons from LESSONS-LEARNED.md, risks/blockers per subtask. Full deepen: Split by domain into parallel Researchers. See agent-registry.md for scope examples.

Field	Before Deepen	After Deepen
Files	"some component"	Exact path + line range
Pattern	"follow existing style"	Specific file:line reference
Risks	unknown	Known issues identified
Lessons	unchecked	Relevant lessons applied
Dependencies	assumed	Verified with exact imports

Agent Output Status Handling

Status	Action
Complete	Fast review
Complete with concerns	Resolve before review
Needs context	Provide info; re-dispatch
Blocked	Upgrade model/escalate; never re-dispatch unchanged

Pre-Delegation Policy Checks

1. Tracker issue exists for this task
2. File partition clean (no overlap with parallel agents)
3. All dependency tasks Done
4. Delegation prompt has file paths + acceptance criteria
5. Self-improvement reminder included (Read LESSONS-LEARNED.md first)

Feature work adds: (6) Known issues reviewed, (7) Architecture docs read, (8) Existing code searched. High-risk work adds: (9) Panel review planned, (10) Rollback path identified.

Compact Delegation Envelope

{
  "tracker": "TAS-XX",
  "agent": "Agent Name",
  "objective": "One sentence: what to do and why.",
  "files": ["path/to/file.ts", "path/to/other.ts"],
  "acceptance_criteria": ["AC 1", "AC 2"],
  "constraints": "Only modify listed files. Read LESSONS-LEARNED.md first.",
  "output_contract": "Return: files changed, lint/type/test pass/fail, discovered issues."
}

tracker required; acceptance_criteria verbatim from tracker; files = exact resolved paths (not globs); output_contract = agent's Base Output Contract. Maintain running delegation log in session checkpoint (see session-checkpoints skill).

Context Source Tagging

Prefix each agent's output summary ### [Agent Name] TAS-XX Description. Never merge outputs from different agents. Cite source agent when referencing prior output. Include Agent column in checkpoint "Completed Work" tables.

Dead Letter Queue Format

Log to .opencastle/AGENT-FAILURES.md when agent fails 2+ attempts, background output fails all gates, or unrecoverable error occurs. Panel 3x BLOCK → create dispute instead.

Entry (DLQ-XXX: Short description): Date, Agent, Tracker Issue, Failure Type (verification-fail / tool-error / panel-block / timeout / scope-creep), Attempts, Task, Failure Details, Resolution. Scan DLQ for pending retries at session start.

Error Recovery

For common failure modes, recovery procedures, load orchestration-protocols skill.

Dispute Protocol

Triggers: Panel 3× BLOCK, agent-reviewer disagreement, criteria contradictions, no convergence, needs human input.

Create in .opencastle/DISPUTES.md:

1. Number (DSP-XXX), set priority, document both perspectives with file references
2. Build attempt history; present ≥2 options with rationale/risk
3. Link panel reports, DLQ entries, changed files
4. Log with observability-logging dispute command

After resolution: resolved → re-delegate with decision as constraint. deferred → follow-up issue.