dispatching-parallel-agents

name	dispatching-parallel-agents
description	Use when facing 2+ independent tasks that can be worked on without shared state or sequential dependencies

Dispatching Parallel Agents

Core Principle

Dispatch one agent per independent problem domain. Let them work concurrently.

When to Use

• 3+ test files failing with different root causes
• Multiple subsystems broken independently
• Each problem can be understood without context from others
• No shared state between investigations

Don't Use When

• Failures are related (fix one might fix others)
• Need to understand full system state
• Agents would interfere with each other

The Pattern

1. Identify Independent Domains

Group failures by what's broken. Each domain is independent.

2. Create Focused Agent Tasks

Each agent gets:

• Specific scope - One test file or subsystem
• Clear goal - Make these tests pass / fix this bug
• Constraints - Don't change other code
• Expected output - Summary of what was found and fixed

3. Dispatch in Parallel

Send all agents at once. They work concurrently.

4. Review and Integrate

• Read each summary
• Verify fixes don't conflict
• Run full test suite
• Integrate all changes

Agent Prompt Structure

Good prompts are:

1. Focused - One clear problem domain
2. Self-contained - All context needed
3. Specific about output - What should the agent return?

Common Mistakes

• Too broad: "Fix all the tests" -> agent gets lost
• No context: "Fix the race condition" -> agent doesn't know where
• No constraints: agent might refactor everything
• Vague output: "Fix it" -> you don't know what changed

Verification After Agents Return

1. Review each summary
2. Check for conflicts (did agents edit same code?)
3. Run full suite
4. Spot check (agents can make systematic errors)